The New Nine Tails

The Seal Has Broken

(Ok, this chapter is going to be a long one, as I want to get this arc over with. So bare with it and Enjoy)

The following day, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hiroto were still at it, trying to climb the tree with just their feet and chakra. After talking to Sakura yesterday, Hiroto was able to stop breaking the tree with his chakra. Naruto was also doing better as he was keeping up with Sasuke.

Hiroto could now reach and keep up with Sasuke and Naruto as all three of them drove each other through competition to do better than the other.

As the day turned into night, Hiroto was making good progress as he remembered what Sakura had said to him.

~

"Chakra requires spiritual energy. So if you get all anxious and frantic, it doesn't work. You have to relax and totally focus on the tree. That's how you get a steady chakra flow in the bottoms of your feet." Sakura said.

~

'Tch. That little fangirl was right about one thing. My chakra control is better when I'm focused on the task. I don't need to worry about Naruto and Sasuke. Just worry about getting to the top of that tree,' Hiroto thought as he focused his chakra on his feet and concentrated on the tree as he ran at it and began to run up the tree.

'Maintain the chakra. Don't overload it. Focus!' Hiroto recited as he went farther than the last time. "Yes! Keep it going!' Hiroto yelled in his head, but the moment he thought that he slipped and marked his spot quickly before flipping off onto the ground. To distribute his weight upon landing, Hiroto performed a back handspring before skidding back across the ground, digging his fingers in the dirt to stop himself.

"Damn. I almost had it," Hiroto said, panting.

~

The three boys then went inside to eat. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be competing with each other as they were both shoveling down food before standing up and asking for seconds. The two glared at each other before throwing up on the floor.

"Don't eat so much if you're going to puke it up," Sakura barked, standing up with a tick mark on her face.

Hiroto scoffed, "Amateurs," he said as everyone looked at his plate to see it piled high with meat while he casually downed a whole bowl of rice before eating three pieces of beef simultaneously with a bored look on his face. 

"Like you're one to talk!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura yelled, not fazing Hiroto in the slightest, as he munched on the meat and rice.

'Where'd he get that much meat?' Tazuna thought in confusion as he looked at Hiroto in shock.

~

After dinner, Sakura walked around Tazuna's home before finding a picture hanging up with a piece of it torn off. When she asked about it, Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari got quiet and serious as Tsunami revealed that it was her husband. Inari walked out of the room without notice, with Tsunami following him, scolding Tazuna on the way out for talking about 'him' in front of Inari. Everyone got curious about this as Kakashi asked if there was a story behind it as Tazuna told them what had happened. 

The man in the photo who was torn out was Inari's father, Kaiza. Kaiza had saved Inari from drowning, and from then on, the two were inseparable like father and son. Inari had never been happier. And when the town's flood gate had opened during a major storm causing the water to rise, Kaiza was the one to jump in the water and battle against the waves to tie a rope to the gate so they could close it to prevent the lower district from flooding. From then on, Kaiza was a hero in their land. But when Gato came, and Kaiza tried to stand up to him, Gato had Kaiza's arms broken and then had him publically executed. Inari had watched his father get killed before his very eyes. And since then, Inari hasn't smiled once and hasn't been happy.