I'm grateful that the rest of the journey to Mister Tazuna's home is a short one.

He'd collapsed after his battle with Zabuza, leaving the rest of us and the bridge-builder to take care of him while unconscious. Trying to transport him from point A to B would've been difficult if it weren't for my brilliant idea, and so, I used a Transformation Jutsu to turn into our Sensei to help Mister Tazuna carry him there.

The whole time back, I couldn't stop myself from stewing. I didn't get much of a chance to contribute to the team besides rescuing Naruto from the undertow of the water, which I mean, yes, that's obviously something I should be proud of for being able to do - I'd saved my best friend, after all - but as for contributing to the fight? I couldn't even get one good swift kick to Zabuza's butt in before that masked boy swooped in.

Slouched against the wall connecting to the room Kakashi-sensei rests in, I tuck my head down into my lap and sigh. There is one other thing I suppose I'd helped with - and I thank Makara-sensei for teaching me all about it. The Land of Waves is bountiful in medicinal herbs. I've never had to apply my knowledge before now, but I know all about the different herbs and plants and flowers that help with all kinds of things, so I'd gone out and gathered the ones I recognized from her texts to create energy salves and pain medicines to help him get better more quickly.

Hearing footsteps from within his room, I lift my head and peer inside to find Tsunami, Mister Tazuna's daughter, now standing over our Sensei. As appreciation for us protecting her father, she'd insisted on taking care of him for us.

"Waking up, huh?" she says. "Are you alright?"

"I've been better," Kakashi-sensei admits. "It'll be a week before I can m-move n-normally." He forces himself to sit up, groaning in discomfort.

"See? It's better if you don't move, so just lie down. Kari?" Jumping up, I enter the room.

"Yes?"

"Do you have anymore of that medicine from last night?" she asks me. "It worked wonders overnight; he never even made a sound. And, in the meantime, would you call the others to come in?"

"Okay; I'll be right back." And I run out of the room and into the kitchen, grinning, where I then find the others and Mister Tazuna sitting down, eating breakfast.

"What are you smiling for?" Sasuke asks me, a piece of bread sticking out of the side of his mouth.

"Kakashi-sensei's okay and it's all thanks to me," I say, somewhat pompously. Naruto gasps sharply, slamming his hands on the table and shoving himself to his feet.

"What? Really?!"

"Y-Yeah, but you should finish your breakfast first," I stammer out, surprised by his loud reaction. "He's still a little woozy from the pain, so I'm going to get him some more medicine." Looking a little irate, he sits back down to shovel his own food into his face.

"Kari, what did you even put in that medicine?" Sakura asks, setting her spoon down. Reaching up into the cupboard above the stove, I pull the jar I'd set aside containing it out from behind Tsunami's recipe books.

I hold it up, beaming. "I added ginger to help cure his nausea, and capsaicin and willow bark for the pain. It doesn't taste all that great, but... it really does work."

"Where'd you learn that?" Sasuke asks, eyebrow raised as he crosses the room to the sink to deposit his empty plate.

"My grandmother," I answer, starting to shake up the contents of the jar. "She's the one who taught me my Taijutsu, too. She used to make remedies from the plants that grew on the mountain, but she had this huge book full of pictures of plants and what they do and where they grow." I smile at it, before realizing they're all standing up and tucking their chairs into the table, their breakfast finished. "I'm just glad that I remember enough to help Kakashi-sensei. Shall we go?"

I'd been too tired and anxious to finish all of mine, so I'd eaten very little and ended up finishing long before they did. Now, I wish I took the time to eat all of my food - I'm starving.

Leading the way, I turn the corner into his room, the others following close behind me, and note how he's since lied back down.

"Look, Sensei's coming around," Naruto says quietly, sounding strained when he makes it too obvious that he's trying to keep quiet.

"Listen, Sensei," Sakura starts, sitting down in front of him, the rest of us joining her on either side, "your Sharingan is amazing and everything, but if it puts that much strain on you, maybe it's not worth it?"

"Sorry," he mumbles, staring straight up at the ceiling.

"Well, you did take out one of the most dangerous Ninja assassins, so we'll be safe for a while," Mister Tazuna reminds him.

"But... but what about that boy with the mask?" I say, frowning.

"He's an elite tracking unit from the Hidden Mist Village," Kakashi-sensei says. "Those masks are worn only by the most elite Shinobi."

"What exactly do they do?" Sakura asks.

"The ANBU black ops, also known as the Inferno Squad - they destroy all traces of a rogue Ninja's corpse. A Shinobi's body contains many secrets - Ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village. If his enemies find them, his people will be in grave danger. For instance, if I were to die at the hands of an enemy, he would try to analyze my Sharingan.

"In the worst case, my entire Jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the Shinobi Trackers to prevent this, to keep their village's secrets safe. If a Ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him, and obliterate every trace of his existence. That's their specialty."

Sitting back up, Kakashi-sensei lifts a hand in front of his face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto asks him. "Sensei?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah." He sets the same hand on his chin. "To finish what I was saying. Tracker Ninja deal with the body immediately, on the spot, so there's no room for error."

"Is that... really important?" Sakura asks slowly.

"Think about it," he says. "Do you remember what that Tracker did with Zabuza's body?"

"That's just it," I say. "We don't know. Maybe he took it somewhere? Back to their village?"

"He should've worked on Zabuza right then and there, as quickly as possible. Think of the weapons he used for the takedown. Do you remember what they were?"

"Throwing needles!" Sasuke exclaims, eyes wide. "No way!"

"Exactly," Kakashi-sensei repeats. "None of it adds up."

"What are you all yammering about?" Mister Tazuna asks, waving his hand. "You demolished that assassin!"

"Here's the truth-Zabuza's still alive."

"Huh!?" "What!?"

"But we saw his body, believe it!" Naruto says.

"Kakashi-sensei, you checked yourself!" Sakura reminds him. "You said his heart stopped!"

"His heart did stop," he says. "But... that was just a temporary state to simulate death. The weapons that Tracker used are called senbon. They can pierce deeply, but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ. Not in the neck. They are modified from needles used for medical treatments, like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every part of the human body-causing the heart to stop while keeping the body alive is easy for them.

"First, he carried Zabuza's body away, even though it was much heavier than he was. Second, he used senbon, which have a precise effect but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can conclude that the Tracker wasn't trying to kill Zabuza. He was trying to save him."

"C'mon, you're over-thinkin' this, aren't you?" Mister Tazuna asks.

"'Encountering suspicion, a Ninja prepares quickly,'" Kakashi-sensei says. "'Hesitation leads to disaster.' Every Shinobi knows this saying."

"Sensei..." I look to Sakura, who seems deep in thought. "... you said, "prepare quickly", but how can we do that when you can't even move?"

"I can still train you," he says with a chuckle.

"Is a bit of last-minute training really supposed to help us beat Zabuza?" I ask.

"Even with your Sharingan, you still couldn't beat him!" Sakura adds. "We have to be reasonable about this!"

"And just how was I able to stop Zabuza?" our Sensei asks. "Because you all helped me. You've grown. Naruto... you've grown the most."

"So you noticed, Kakashi-sensei!" he says, grinning. "Now things are going to get better, believe it!"

"I don't believe it, and nothing's gonna be good!" Startled by the sudden outburst, we turn our heads around to see a little boy standing in the doorway, glaring at us?

"Who are you!?" Naruto exclaims, pointing at him. Disregarding his question, the boy runs past us and over to Mister Tazuna.

"Inari, where've you been?" he asks, giving him a warm hug.

"Welcome back, Grandpa!" he says, squeezing him tightly back.

"Inari, that was very rude!" Tsunami says, placing her hands on her hips. "These Ninja helped your Grandpa and brought him here safely!"

"It's okay, it's okay," Mr. Tazuna says, patting Inari's hat-covered head. "I'm rude to them, too!"

"It's not okay, actually," I mumble into my hand. It's not like I have any idea what it means to raise another kid, being one myself, but that sure doesn't seem the right way to me.

"Mom, don't you see?" Inari turns to her. "These people are gonna die! Gatō and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out!"

"What did you say, brat!?" Naruto snaps. "Listen up! D'you know what a 'Super Ninja' is? Well that's me, only a lot better! I'm gonna be Hokage! This Gatō or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!"

"There's no such thing as a hero," Inari says, glaring up at him. "Only stupid kids believe that!"

To keep him from attacking Inari, I shoot up from my seat on the floor, practically having to tackle him while he screams at the boy.

"Naruto, calm down!" I hiss.

"If you want to stay alive, then you better go back where you came from," Inari advises before turning to leave the room.

"Inari, wait," Mister Tazuna calls after him. "Where are you going?"

"To look out at the ocean," he says. "I want to be alone."

Finally releasing a still-seething Naruto, I sigh after the boy. Something's definitely up, I think. And by the way he spoke, I wonder if something else happened here besides the whole Gatō thing.

"Sorry about that," Mister Tazuna says, turning back to us. Taking a deep breath, our Sensei lies back down.

"Oh, that's right," I say, snatching the jar up from behind me and setting it next to him. "I have some more medicine for you to take, Sensei."

"O-Oh..." He frowns. "You do?"

"It'll help you feel better when you're training us," Sakura says.

"Well, I-I'm feeling a bit better now that I'm wide awake, so I don't think that's necessary-" I pat the top of the jar once, staring him down.

"It's necessary," I cut him off. Turning his head in the opposite direction, his one open eye shuts. "Oh, Kakashi-sensei, don't be a child."

It's good that Kakashi-sensei had to get up; the flavour from the willow bark is extremely woody and the ginger won't hide it forever, so brushing his teeth before it shows up is necessary. I remember once, living back in the Hidden Snow, that I'd come down with the flu while on a training expedition in the mountains. There aren't any willow trees there, but the birch trees that lined the base of the mountains tasted quite similar. I'd been too weak to sit up, let alone clean my mouth, so I'd been left with that horrible flavour for over a day. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous. But Makara-sensei often had to improvise based on what grew each season; she'd often leave and make day-long journeys, to who knows where now. Most likely, it'd been the main village down at the beginning of the mountain.

Speaking of Makara-sensei, for the sake of occupying myself in our downtime while on our mission, I brought the scrolls she'd left for me.

Returning to the room Tsunami had graciously allowed Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and myself to rest in during our stay, I plop down on my sleeper's bag and pull my traveler's pack into my lap. Untwisting the buckles and ties that seal it shut, I widen the opening and pull the scrolls I'd wrapped in a thin cloth for protection out, setting them in front of me to examine them.

"They're... numbered?" I realize, slightly confused. On each of their curved spines there are digits written almost rushed in black ink. Incidentally grabbing the one labelled with "五" for "five", I slip my fingers along the edge of the parchment to peel it back, but it doesn't let me?

"Weird," I murmur, tugging a little harder. "Hm, no good."

"What's weird?" I leap nearly a foot off the floor, my head turning toward the door so quickly that whiplash could be jealous, to find Sasuke leaning against the frame of the door.

"Oh," I breathe, and I hold up the scroll. "It's this - it won't open." Pushing himself away from it, Sasuke walks toward where I sit, hand extended toward me, and I pass it to him. For several minute, he studies the scroll, his own fingers trailing along every possible point.

"How many are there?" he eventually asks.

"Nine," I tell him. "Why?"

"It's a numerical sequence. You have to open them in the order they're labelled."

"In order?" I repeat, sighing. "I guess that should've been obvious... What do you think is inside them?"

"I don't know," he snipes. "Ninjutsu, maybe? Why should I?"

"It was just a question, calm down," I say, waving my hand at him. Instead of tossing it back, Sasuke sits on his own sleeper's bag next to mine and sets the fifth scroll down while I snatch up the first. Successfully slipping a finger beneath the fold of the parchment, I release a breath of relief when it peels back all the way. "It opened!"

Absolutely giddy, I unwind the parchment between us, letting the roll fly through the air to clatter against the floorboards. On the parchment are a series of symbols, letters, and numbers, all written with the same scrawl as the numbers on the spines of the scrolls, filling every possible place and corner of the paper.

"It's a Jutsu," Sasuke breathes, and I glance up at him to find his eyes wide and lips parted, looking in awe. "They're all Jutsu."

"She could've at least made them easier to read, too," I huff, "but it's just like her to make things more difficult than they need to be."

"What I don't get," and Sasuke takes the second scroll to open it, but it doesn't, "is how these things are supposed to open when you actually finally learn everything on them."

"That's a good point," I say, nodding. "How am I supposed to prove it?"

"Naruto! Sasuke, Sakura, Kari! Let's go!" Sighing, I shove them away and follow Sasuke out of the room.

Guess I'll have to figure it out later.

"Alright - training starts now," Kakashi-sensei announces.

"Right!"

"First, we will begin with a review of chakra, the Ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential."

"We know that," Sasuke grumbles, myself nodding along with him.

"He's right," Naruto says. "A long time we learned about, uh, catra!" Kakashi-sensei deadpans at him.

"Chakra?" he corrects. Naruto's smiles fades into an embarrassed grimace. "Go ahead, Sakura."

Hands on her hips, Sakura looks to us.

"Alright Naruto; I'll explain it simply so you can understand it," she says.

"Chakra is the elemental life energy a Ninja uses in Jutsu. It's the source of all his power. Now, this energy has two forms: physical energy, which exists in all the cells in the entire body all working together, and spiritual energy, the primal source of power which is intensified by training and experience.

"The two types of chakra must be drawn out and brought together in order to perform Jutsu. The key is the space between the physical and spiritual power. Finally, hand signs focus and release the chakra."

"Right on all points," Kakashi-sensei says, adjusting himself on his crutches. "Iruka-sensei really did have some excellent students."

I won't lie, but I won't admit it to the others, either - reviewing it probably just saved my butt for this training or I would've forgotten everything.

"Ugh, what's the big deal with all these complicated explanations!?" Naruto asks, frustrated. "The whole point is to learn the Jutsu, isn't it?"

"Naruto's right for once," Sasuke says, shutting his eyes. "We're already using chakra energy in our Jutsu."

"No," our Sensei says. "You have not mastered this power; you've barely even scratched the surface of it."

"What do you mean!?"

"Calm down and listen. It's just like Sakura said: you have to draw on physical and spiritual energies and then combine them within yourself. But... how do you do that? Each Jutsu require different types of chakra in different proportions. You must select and combine them in exactly the right way. Up until now, you've just guessed the proportions, hoping they'd come out right.

"Even if you produce a lot of chakra, unless you can balance and control it, it's all worthless. The Jutsu won't work at all, or, it'll just be a joke. You waste so much energy that way! Then you're out of chakra and you can't fight at all. You're just a target."

"So then... how can we change that?" I ask.

"Train so hard that controlling your chakra become second nature," he answers. "To achieve that goal, you must be ready to put your lives on the line."

"What do we have to do?" Sakura inquires. Our Sensei chuckles.

"Climb a tree." I blink.

"Climb a tree?" we all chorus.

"That's right," he says. "But, there's just one rule-no hands."

"W-What?"

"You're kidding."

"Am I? Let's see." Performing a quick hand sign, our Sensei reclaims his crutches and walks carefully over to the base of the tree. When he gets there, he places a foot on the trunk and... w-walks up it?

"H-He's climbing!"

"Straight up!"

"And he's only using his feet!"

"Well, you get the idea," he says down to us, now hanging upside down on a branch. I stumble a bit, looking up at him. "Focus your chakra toward the soles of your feet, and then use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra."

"Wait a minute!" Sakura calls. "That's a nice trick, but how will that help us fight Zabuza?"

"It's the only way to fight him, Sakura. That's the entire goal of this training. First, you'll learn to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in your body. This is difficult, even for advanced Ninja. This type of climbing requires a subtle mix of physical and spiritual energy, and the bottoms of the feet are the most difficult points to focus chakra.

"Are you getting the picture? If you can master this, you'll be able to master any Jutsu. Well, theoretically. The second point is to maintain your chakra levels. When a Ninja is focused in battle, it's even harder to control and maintain his chakra levels-a deadly mistake. To avoid this, maintaining chakra must become second nature - effortless.

"I could talk about this all day, but that wouldn't advance your skills, now, would it? You need to apply the power of chakra through training."

Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out four kunai and throws them down into the ground at our feet.

"Use the kunai knives to mark the highest point in the tree you can climb, without using your hands," he instructs. "Then, try to get past that mark the next time, and the next. At first, you'll need to run at the tree so your momentum will take you as high as possible, until you get used to it. Ready?"

Leaning over, we snatch up the kunai in front of us.

"I'm more than ready!" Naruto says. "This is gonna be no sweat all the way, believe it!" He points up at the tree. "Remember what you said, Sensei- I'm the one who's grown the most!"

"You're certainly the one who talks the most," he muses. "Now get focused and do it!"

Deep breaths. I close my eyes, accepting my surroundings through sound only. Deep breaths.

I can hear the rustling of the trees of this forest. I can hear the birds around us singing as they move from branch to branch above our heads. Cicadas - before leaving the mountains, I'd had no idea a bug could make such a loud noise; we didn't get many up there, obviously.

Standing here, focusing on my training like this - it reminds me of my last day there. Still the middle of our winter, the blizzard that'd started three days prior had only just ended that morning. The cabin would've been buried if it hadn't been for Makara-sensei making quick work on digging us out. But this training, like the one from back then should've been, is very important, because lives are on the line again. If I'd been stronger, Makara-sensei wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself like that. And Mister Tazuna shouldn't have to die for doing his country such a service.

Eyes snapping open, I clutch the kunai tight so I won't drop it, and "charge" at the tree, as Naruto loudly puts it. Decidedly finding the right spot to step, I place my foot against the curve of the trunk and run upwards.

"This... this is so... easy!"

Iruka-sensei once told me in the beginning of my solo lessons that I'd been absolutely horrible at gathering my chakra - of course, he only phrased it this way because I'd said something about him to him instead of in my head like I thought I did, hence the undesired extension of our lessons that day - but the way Sakura explained it, it'd been like something... switched? It just suddenly made complete sense. This whole time before now, I'd struggled to use Ninjutsu - even that Transformation Jutsu from earlier took way too much out of me to focus on being able to do - but now, I'm slicing just a foot beneath the branch of my tree with the kunai and dropping back to the ground, grinning.

Hoping that the others had been just as successful as myself for their first tries, I look off to the left at them. Sasuke glares at a foot-shaped hole in the tree. Naruto is folded in the fetal position, holding his head in his hands as though he'd injured it. But where's Sakura?

"Hey, this is fun!" Looking back up into the trees, shielding my eyes from the sun streaming through the leaves with my hands, I finally spot Sakura, perched up on her own branch, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Sakura?!" Giggling, she sticks her tongue out at us.

"Well, it looks like only one of the female members of the squad is the most advance chakra controller," Kakashi-sensei says. "Well done, Sakura."

"Yeah!" Naruto calls to her. "Way to go, Sakura! I always knew you were awesome, believe it!"

"That was incredible!" I cheer up at her. Of course, I didn't miss that little dig of yours, Kakashi-sensei - it won't be forgotten, either.

"Whatever," Sasuke grumbles.

"Well, not only does Sakura understand chakra, but she can also control and maintain it, as well." Kakashi-sensei smiles upside-downwards at her through his mask. "We spoke about someone becoming Hokage one day, didn't we? Seems Sakura's got the best chance at that. Oh, let's not forget our little avenger, shall we? And as for the great Uchiha Clan, maybe they're not great, after all?"

"Shut up, Sensei!" Sakura trills before I can open my own mouth to argue. Instead, I shake my head back into focus.

"Maybe we just need some kind of motivation," I muse. I point the kunai at the two of them. "I bet you both that I'll make it up there before either of you."

"Huh?!" Naruto exclaims. "You're on, Kari! I'm getting up there first, believe it!"

"On the second try?" Sasuke scoffs. "As if."

"Sakura made it in one try, and you act like you're not impressed? As if," I say back. "I'll be climbing this tree, Sensei," I promise the upside-down man, clutching the kunai tight again. "Watch me prove it right now!" And I rush at the tree after channeling my chakra to my feet, stepping comfortably against the bark, and to my word and almost too easily, I make the vertical climb, joining Sakura and our Sensei at their great heights.

"Ha-ha, I did it! I told you two!" I sigh in relief, barely heard over Naruto's tantrum and another of Sasuke's failed attempts, thankful I'd been able to prove them wrong. "Oh, I can't wait to tell Iruka-sensei! He's not gonna believe me when I tell him, but I really did do it!"

"Yes, you did," Kakashi-sensei says. "Good job. Now, how about you and Sakura go down to the bridge and help out Mister Tazuna?"

"I had no idea there was so many incredible things to see in the world," I breathe, staring in awe at the goings-on going on along the bridge. The most technology I've seen since leaving the mountains had been the computer things in some of the shops, but here, assisting in protecting Mister Tazuna and his workers, these huge machines? Sakura calls them "cranes". They carry heavy loads the bridge materials so the workers don't.

"You've never seen them before?" Sakura says, leaning back against a finished portion of the bridge. I shake my head and watch one of the men run across to the unfinished end.

I shake my head. "I lived in the mountains in the Hidden Snow for as long as I can remember," I tell her, which isn't much, I think at the same time. "The only thing we had for technology up there had been kitchen stuff - you know, a fridge and a stove... Everything is so incredible in the real world."

"Hm, I guess so," she says. "I think because I knew all about this stuff and growing up with it, it isn't really that impressive, but it is different for you, huh? You're seeing it all for the first time."

"... it's really wonderful," I breathe, watching one of the cranes drop a pile of material near the same unfinished edge. In the same moment, Sakura yawns, and it ends up being contagious. I release my own yawn into the back of my hand, leaning back against the bridge with her.

"Are you two always this lazy?" Mister Tazuna asks, having suddenly approached us. I quickly sit up, recovering from being startled. "Where's that weird blond kid and the one with the attitude?"

"They're training," Sakura tells him when I have to stifle a second yawn. "Climbing trees."

"Too tough for you?"

"Nope! In fact, we're the best! That's why our Sensei sent us here to guard you."

"You're joking."

I abruptly stand, glaring at the old man. "And what's that supposed to mean?" I demand, and I'm ready to say more choice words at him, when one of his workers rush up behind him, calling his name.

"Tazuna, uh, I need to talk to you," he says, Mister Tazuna turning to face him.

"Huh? What about?"

"Eh, the thing is... I've been thinking a lot about the bridge, and I've pushed my luck far enough. I want out."

"Now you're gonna quit on me just like that!? You're kidding!"

"You know, I stayed on because of our friendship," the man says, staring down at his feet. "But I put my life on the line every day I stay here. Gatō and his thugs will show up eventually. When they do, they'll kill you and the bridge won't get finished, anyway." At the look on his face, the man sighs. "It's a lost cause, Tazuna! Why don't we stop now while we can still get out of this alive?"

"No chance," is his answer. My glare twitches into a partial smile, but I'm still annoyed by his comment.

"Huh?"

"This is our bridge. Our island is poor, and it will stay this way until the bridge connects us to the mainland! Commerce, trade, and hope-this is what we're building here!"

"There's not gonna be much hope if we're all dead."

"It's already noon," Mister Tazuna says, walking past him. "Let's break for lunch."

"Tazuna, let's not end it like this-""Save your breath. Oh, and Giichi - don't bother coming back after lunch."

"... no matter what the price, you do things to make those around you happier," I mutter, pressing my chin into my hands.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asks, turning my way.

"An act of selflessness and sacrifice is rewarded, but not always to the person making that selfless choice. You should do what you can to help or save a life, even at the cost of your own, if you're capable of doing so. Doesn't that man know what will happen when the bridge is finished? Doesn't he understand?"

"I don't know why, either," she says, shaking her head as she stands to join me. "But we should get going - Mister Tazuna already left."

I sigh. "Yeah, okay."

The sun that sets over the Land of Waves has to be one of the most beautiful I've seen since leaving the bitter cold of the Hidden Snow. It's a deep, almost rusty orange, the sky beyond it full of shades of pinks and purples and yellows and blue that forces a great sense of calm shooting through my body. I'd just like to be sitting on the roof of my new home and watch it, like I usually do as it passes through the trees surrounding it.

It's unfortunate, though, that it's one of the only good things going for this land.

"Um... where are we going?" Sakura asks.

"You two wanna eat tonight, don't ya?" Mister Tazuna remarks, looking down at us. "I've got to pick up some things for dinner."

W-What's with the conditions of this place? Walking down the main street through the town, many homeless people litter the streets and alleyways and it makes my heart ache for them. In the Hidden Leaf, if you tried sleeping out in the streets, whether you're a child or an adult, you'd be sent to the village orphanage or the housing station for support.

Here, either of them are alone. Next to nothing with them, they litter the streets, taking shelter in or next to garbage bins, back doorways, or just sitting on a bamboo mat. And they're so skinny, especially in contrast to my own body type - I'm muscly because of my Taijutsu training, but I'm still boney. These people... are just skin and bone. And it's startling.

"Thief! Thief!!" A boy in a torn blue tee-shirt runs past us and ducks into a dark alleyway, carrying a string of sausages over his shoulder.

This is exactly what I meant by what I'd said to Sakura back on the bridge. If people had enough selflessness and courage, like Makara-sensei, Iruka-sensei, and even Naruto, this kind of thing probably wouldn't be happening. The Land of Waves has the numbers! If only they had the backbone, too, then they could probably, easily, overthrow Gatō and his gang of bullies.

Mister Tazuna crosses in front of us, leading the way underneath the shade of a wooden awning connected to a store front.

"Here we are," he says, and he opens the glass door to it - I'm surprised that it's actually intact - and lets us enter first.

Compared to the other stores, this one has seemed to survive whatever else struggles plague this little village, whereas all the rest we've passed had been boarded up. Looking around, I can't help but feel disparaged. There's next to no food stocked on the shelves here; a few stray groups of vegetables and fruits - this is all they have...?

"You pervert!" Sakura suddenly screeches. I whirl around in time to catch her roundhouse-kick a bald man in the face, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

"That really surprised me back there," Mister Tazuna says, adjusting his grip on the grocery bag. "Girls around here don't really fight like that."

"They should!" Sakura responds through clenched teeth, her shoulders set back. I laugh weakly. "Something's really wrong around here." By the end of her sentence, I spot a bit of movement behind her. Just as she grits her teeth even tighter to react, I stop her by grabbing her wrist.

"Sakura, it isn't a pervert this time," I say, and I kneel in front of the sweet-faced little boy now standing before us. He raises his thin arm and grabs our arms, smiling feebly at us.

"Please?" he asks with a giggle. My heart melts on the spot and I'm ready to begin crying. Before I can, both Sakura and I reach into our packs and pull out whatever food we have on us - in her case, sweet candies, and from me, blueberries that I'd collected an abundance of after giving Kakashi-sensei his morning medicine.

In each hand, he takes them, smiling gratefully, holding them close to him.

"Ah, thank you!" he says before running through the stragglers walking by. I sniff, hard, wiping my cheeks on the backs of my hands, watching him until he finally disappears from my sight.

"This is how it's been since Gatō came here," Mister Tazuna tells us. "The children suffer, and the adults are afraid to stand up to him. They've lost all hope, and that's why we have to finish the bridge. It will bring commerce and trade, but most importantly, it will be a symbol of courage. We must restore the spirit of our people. When the bridge is finished, people will start to believe again. They'll believe that they can live with dignity. We can't let Gatō stop us!"

"I swear, Mister Tazuna," and I clutch my hand over my chest, "that we'll make sure no one stops you."

"This is fantastic! We've never had so many guests around for dinner before!"

It's an automatic reaction by this point into our meal - I'd just dodged a piece of flying food flung by Sasuke without even having to look up from my own plate. After already having been a victim to a glob of airborne mashed potatoes, stuck between the two dummies making them airborne in the first place, I refused to be caught in the middle of their eating competition, despite literally being caught in the middle of it.

Lifting their bowls up into the air, they chorus, "I want some more!" and glare at each other before returning into their seats - and turning green. I audibly grimace, pushing myself back from the table and far away from the colorful chunks that rise up from Sasuke's stomach and land on the floor where I'd just been. Sakura slams her hands down on the opposite side of the table.

"Don't eat so much if you're gonna puke it up!" she snaps.

"I... have to eat," Sasuke says, holding his gut. Looking up from the ground, Naruto smirks.

"And I have to eat more than him," he says. "It's the only possible way I'll be strong enough to beat 'em."

"That's true," Kakashi-sensei says, nodding his head, "but puking won't help you. I sure hope you have some of that medicine leftover, Kari."

I sigh heavily, sagging into my chair. "I do. I just wish I had something to take to get my appetite back." Standing up out of my chair, I tiptoe around Sasuke's vomit and grab both mine and Sakura's dishes, glaring hard at the two boys on either side of me before bringing them to the sink where Tsunami does the dishes, and snatching up the last jar of medicine.

"Excuse me, this picture is torn?" Sakura says, having walked over to a frame on the wall. It's as she says, and by the looks of it, it seems to have been deliberate. "Is there some reason for that? Inari, you kept glancing at it all through dinner. It looks like there was someone else in it, but someone ripped it out. I mean... that's kind of strange, isn't it?"

Tsunami sets a dish down in the sink, and it clanks loudly. "It's... it's my husband," she says.

"They used to call him a hero in this land." Mister Tazuna stares down into his hands. Something brushes past my leg, and I realize that it's Inari, on his way out of the room.

"Inari, where are you going?" his mother calls after him. He just leaves, not giving her an answer or even looking her way, slamming the door behind him. "Father, you can't talk about him like that in front of Inari; you know that!" And she follows in his direction.

"What... happened to Inari?" I wonder quietly, staring at the door they'd both left through

"Hm... is there a story behind this?" Kakashi-sensei asks.

"He wasn't his real father," Mister Tazuna explains. "He came into the family later, and he brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close. In those days, Inari used to laugh all the t-time, but t-then..." I stare at him, wincing, as the tears just so easily slip out from the corners of his eyes and onto the table.

"He never smiles anymore. Ever since the day everything changed. The word "courage" was stolen from this island. We were left powerless, hopeless, and Inari suffered the most. Ever since that day, ever since it happened."

"Tell us," Kakashi-sensei says. "Tell us what happened to Inari."

"First... you need to know about this man, his father, the man who t-taught us courage, who was a hero in this l-land." Mister Tazuna pulls off his glasses and wipes his tears away.

"A hero?" Naruto repeats. "Really?"

"You can decide that for yourself," he murmurs, putting them back on. "He came here about three years ago. Inari was down by the docks with his pet; a dog named Pooch. A couple of the other children who lived in the village took Pooch from him and tossed him into the river. At the time, Inari didn't know how to swim, and either did Pooch. But then, one of the kids pushed him in, and nearly drowned. At that moment, Pooch learned how to dog-paddle. When he got back to shore, he ran from the beach, and the kids chased after him, leaving Inari alone. And... if it wasn't for him... he would've surely died.

"His name... was Kaiza, a simple fisherman who came from another land to follow his dreams. After that, Kaiza and Inari were inseparable. The boy has never known his real father, so you could imagine what it meant to him to have Kaiza in his life. He looked up to him and followed in his footsteps like a real father and son. Kaiza spent more and more time with us until he just naturally became a member of the family. And then, when this town needed him, he became something more.

"The flood gates in the lower district had opened, and the water that was being held back threatened to flood the entire area. When no one else stepped up to swim across and tie a line to the gate, Kaiza gladly volunteered. The villagers doubted him, but Inari, while scared for him, believed in him completely. He was able to shut the gate and stop the flood.

"From that time on, Kaiza was considered a hero in this land. He taught us all the meaning of courage, and Inari was so proud to be his son. But it wasn't long after... that Gatō showed up and took over and terrorized the whole village. Only Kaiza stood up to him. Gatō couldn't have a local hero getting in his way. It took his whole gang to stop one man. And... they did... in front of the entire population.

"Since then, Inari's changed. So did Tsunami and all our people. We lost our will."

And this all must be why Inari reacted so horribly the first time we met him, I realize sadly.

After staring over at the picture for far too long, I'd nearly forgotten that I'm not the only person in the room, so when Naruto pushes himself out of his chair, making a loud screeching noise across the floor, and only to trip and fall, it startles me.

"You'd better take the day off," Kakashi-sensei advises. "No more training; you've used too much chakra. If you push yourself any harder, it can kill you."

"I'm... I'm going to prove it," he suddenly says. I blink.

"Prove what?" I ask.

"I-I'll prove that it's true! I'll prove that, in this world, there are real heroes!"

I can only laugh to myself that he echoes the very same though I'd had. You were a perfect example of this... Makara-sensei.

"Hm... I think I get it now."

Once Naruto had left after dinner, I'd left on my own, sneaking one of my scrolls past Kakashi-sensei so he wouldn't too deeply question my intended whereabouts, and to the closest water's edge I could find, in the case that my attempt to try and learn this technique went south. The first scroll being of Fire Style Ninjutsu, this is a definitely, if not a highly possible, outcome. This land has already experienced so much - the last thing it needs is a forest fire. And, Kakashi-sensei probably wouldn't condone me going off to do this alone.

Maybe I should've asked him to teach me, I've only now concluded.

The pond in front of me isn't so large - perhaps forty yards all around? It smells much nicer here than the ocean, like lilies and pear juice, strangely. Trying to navigate myself toward the sea might've proved a little complicated this late at night; I also don't want to risk somehow running into Zabuza and his masked crony.

Before I incorporate any kind of chakra into the technique, I first practice the necessary ___ hand signs until they feel comfortable in my own hands. Once they do, I return to the text on the parchment, once more performing the hand signs when I've added in my chakra. To my astonishment, the temperature in my chest quickly rises, but the moment I pull my hands away from the final hand sign I'd made, it dies down.

Every inch of my body tingles in anticipation; in excitement. For whatever reason, I feel lucky enough to give it a true try, and not just practice the concepts. This time, I go through with the whole thing - the chakra embedding, the hand signs, and finally, the execution; another deep breath, and the swirling of familiar warmth picks up again, making my body break into a sweat.

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!

I hadn't expected the Jutsu to have such a powerful recoil effect to it; several of my joints and even a section of my spine cracks from the pressure of the compressed heat in my lungs being released through my mouth. The flames flint into activeness within me, and a moment later, they're being spewed across the pond, lighting up the surface of the water.

I'm doing it!! I yell in my thoughts, unable to speak otherwise. I'm still frightened that somehow; , I'm burning myself internally, but recalling that the text explained that one's own chakra would safeguard me, I instead try and focus on holding the Jutsu. But it'd already been too late for this. I lost too much of my focus and my confidence falters, as do the flames of the Jutsu, and they lick both the surface of the water and the shore's edge, scorching it, and at the same time, my forearms.

I release the Jutsu almost instantly, the white-hot searing pain from being burned by my own technique easily too unbearable for me to deal with both things. The flames disappear from across the pond, the only ones remaining being the small patch flickering next to the waterline. I collapse onto my knees, the bubbling ache spreading from the inside of my elbows and to my wrists too intense to keep standing, just managing to miss the little flames by throwing my weight to the side, half of me landing in the water, itself.

Despite only being burnt in a single similar spot, my whole body twitches in pain, the tears pricking in the corners of my eyes almost as hot as my own flesh.

Y-Yeah, I really should've asked Kakashi-sensei to teach me, I think bitterly, and it's the last thing I think of before I catch myself going unconscious from the same pain.

Updated May 24th, 2021 | 7,400 words🎆🍁👑 Happy Victoria Day, fellow Canadians! 👑🍁🎆