Two months

"There's one I'm slightly afraid of and extremely wary of."

"Yes?" Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Sasuke asked "Who is it?"

"He graduated before us, and his talent with almost everything is the worst."

"Then why the caution?"

"Because there is no one who has better Taijutsu than him in our generation...no matter how I think about it, I simply can't think of a way to defeat him even if I put my life on the line"

"How come I never heard of such a ninja?"

"Because just like me, everyone underestimates him... Kakashi-sensei knows his master, he himself knows how strong they are."

"What's his master's name?"

"Might Guy"

"I've never heard of him."

"Might Guy's father and teacher was also very underestimated during his whole life... do you know what was the last thing he did before he died?"

"I don't even know who he is, let alone what he did before he died."

"He sacrificed himself to save his son and his team, who were ambushed by the older generation of the 7 mist swordsmen."

"Did he kill any of them?"

"Four, the others escaped."

Eyes widening, Sasuke asked in disbelief "He alone was able to kill four of the fog swordsmen!?"

"That's right, even though it cost him his life, he not only saved the lives of his son's team and his own son, but he wiped out the swordsmen and if it wasn't for the last ones escaping, that man would have eradicated every single one of them."

"Wow..." With genuine surprise, Sasuke muttered, "How come someone like him was never named?"

"Who knows?" Shaking his head, Naruto continued "Even I found out from eavesdropping on other village ninja... but I never forget that those swordsmen were not only the best in their village, but were publicly recognized as the strongest generation they ever had."

"And that guy you're worried about... is he just as strong?"

"Of course not, but he's on the same path."

"..." Remaining silent for a moment, Sasuke asked "Is that why you put so much effort into your physique?"

"Thanks to him I know how important it is to break your physical limits... Even if I only manage to have half the strength that this duo will have, it will be enough to wipe them all out, that obviously combining it with my chakra"

"..." Frowning slightly for a moment, Sasuke looked at Naruto and continued seriously "Let's keep training."

"Right" Jumping up, Naruto wiped the sweat from his face with his t-shirt and defensively positioned himself with a serious face "Go ahead!"

***

"Thank you for accompanying me to the market, I doubt I could bring everything by myself" Smiling gratefully as they walk down a slightly bustling market street, Tsunami spoke towards Naruto.

"Didn't I tell you to stop thanking me for everything?" rolling his eyes, Naruto continued "During these months I've heard it like 100 times."

"It's polite to be thankful when someone does something nice for you."

"Your family took us in all this time, it's the least I can do."

After Gatoh's death, two months passed quickly while the bridge was still under construction.

After a week of investigation by Tazuna and his friends, they were finally able to divide the money among the citizens and secure a portion of the money to continue giving a decent wage to the workers, causing more and more people to come looking for work and the bridge to not only be built faster, but their level of detail and preparation would increase considerably.

During this time, being true to his new convictions, Naruto never stopped training and always making sure to stick to his two new mottos.

If I can stand up, it is still not enough training.

If I don't faint from lack of chakra, I can still continue.

And thanks to those convictions, today he is not only much faster than he was before he used the weights while still wearing them, but his chakra control today can be considered monstrous.

Not only can he stand upright hanging from a tree and keep 10 leaves spinning one on each finger, but he can literally cover his body in leaves and spin them around without even giving it a second thought.

But not only has he been training his body with Sasuke and training his chakra control, but after getting totally used to the weight he carries in his limbs, he finally set his eyes on Zabuza's sword and has been training with it as much as he can before he can no longer feel his arms and back.

The first few days, he couldn't hold it in his hands for more than a couple of minutes before having to drop it, then having to rest for about 10 minutes and repeat the process again.

The beginning of the training was simple, he managed to hold the sword for at least 10 minutes without dropping it, , not only can he now hold it for 14 minutes, but he can swing it 12 times without falling.

It may not sound like much, but only Naruto knows how hard it was to even transform those 10 minutes into 14, and although he's still nowhere near being able to use it for fighting, it's certainly a breakthrough.

"Is it necessary for you to carry that sword?" Looking at the giant sword loaded on Naruto's back, Tsunami asked.

During all this time, Naruto obviously not only trained, but he always made sure to take the time from time to time to accompany Tsunami to get groceries, prepare firewood to keep the home warm, help carry the wheat to the mill, even made sure with his clones to give maintenance to the wood that looks in bad shape in the structure of the house.

But no matter when Tsunami sees him, as long as he is not inside the house, Naruto has that sword on his back.

"I plan to use it, but it weighs a lot, so I have to adapt my body to its weight and that takes time."

"I see" Nodding with understanding, Tsunami turned her gaze to Naruto and watched his face for a moment, then asked "Can I ask you a somewhat personal question?"

"Go ahead."

"I've seen you train... your fists bleed, your body gets battered and I can't remember a day when they don't have to drag you because you can't move or because you passed out" Shaking her head, Tsunami continued "At first I thought that somehow, you didn't feel that pain anymore.... maybe you were so used to it, that somehow that sense was turned off for you, but... I've seen you shed tears and I've seen you grit your teeth to the point where even your gums bleed, so it's more than obvious that pain you do feel it like every other human being"

"..."

"My question is... how is it that you endure it?" Puzzled, Tsunami stared into Naruto's eyes and continued "How is it that you can wake up every morning knowing that you have a whole day ahead of you full of suffering, tiredness and pain?"

"..." Staring at Tsunami's face for a moment, Naruto lowered his gaze and replied "I have several reasons that motivate me... how much do you know about my situation?"

"I've heard some things your sensei has told my father about you..."

"You know about my teacher?"

"Yes..."

"What happened with him?"

"I only know that he saved you."

"And my life before him?"

"Nothing."

"Well..." Thinking for a moment, Naruto continued "If I had to sum it up, I would say that my fear and longing are at the heart of it all.... The emptiness of having no one to confide in, no one who cares, even a little bit about me, has made me value every connection I've made with my entire being... and even though I say every connection, there really was a time where there was only one genuine connection... to see that connection disappear with the death of the only person who really genuinely cared about me.... that just tore me up inside."

"..."

"I couldn't sleep, I had nightmares, I couldn't even leave my house because my whole village hates me...it really was hard, no...it's still hard" Turning his gaze to Tsunami with a slight smile, Naruto continued "I promised myself that I wouldn't let that happen again...I promised myself not to lose anyone else...and I promise to keep that promise until my last breath."

"..."

"As for the second major reason..." Lowering his gaze to his injured hands, Naruto chuckled and continued "When you experience pain that tears you apart in a way that neither doctors nor remedies can soothe... that's when you understand that physical pain is nothing more than child's play."

"I... I'm sorry for asking about something so delicate" With an embarrassed face, Tsunami murmured sadly.

"It's okay, this is the way we meet people and form connections" Smiling nonchalantly, Naruto looked up at the blue sky above him and continued "And you don't have to be sad about it, because, even though today everything is gray, I'm completely sure that the day will come where I can smile from the bottom of my heart... I know that the day will come when I will have people who will appreciate me and consider me important in their lives"

"..."

Turning his gaze towards Tsunami, Naruto narrowed his eyes with his toothy grin and continued "Someday I will be happy, and until that day comes, I will continue to give my all so that when the time comes, I can make sure to protect that happiness."

"I'm sure you will" After a moment of silence, Tsunami rubbed Naruto's shoulder and smiled encouragingly.

"Thank you" Smiling back, Naruto looked around and commented "This place seems much more alive to what it was like when I first came"

"With Gatoh gone, everyone was able to sail again and goods could be brought in from abroad, and thanks to the money you gave us, everyone had money to spend and the entire country's economy is revitalizing" Smiling as she looked around with obvious joy, Tsunami continued "Now it looks like those gray days were nothing but a bad dream"

"I hope it will be that way for a long time"

"I hope so" Nodding, Tsunami turned to Naruto and asked "May I know how Inari is doing in training?"

"He is always full of energy" Remembering the little boy, Naruto continued "He is already in much better physical shape than he used to be, and although he is superficial, I am teaching him to sense his chakra and I hope I can teach him how to handle it before I leave"

"He will be very happy" Remembering the smile his son is showing these days, Tsunami smiled softly and continued "I know you don't like me doing this, but I really have to thank you for supporting him...it used to have me so worried and I despaired that I didn't know what to do to help him, in fact, I doubt I could have."