The Strength of the Weak {A Naruto Fanfiction}

The Strength of the Weak - Chapter 14

"Keep the change," I say, grabbing the basket and leaving. Tazuna and Sakura follow behind me as I walk back to the house. The people all around us were watching me closely, eyeing the food that I had in my hand hungrily.

From behind me, Sakura growls again, making me turn my head to see what the commotion was. It turns out, this time a little girl was trying to get Sakura's attention, begging for some food. Sakura frowns sadly at the little girl, taking a few spare candies that she had in her bag and giving it to her.

As sad as it was watching the little girl beg, the saddest part was the true excitement and joy on her face just because a stranger had spared a little treat for her. It had me thinking, had she ever lived a normal life, where you didn't have to beg for food every day? Was that really what her entire life had been, just trying to survive until the next day? It was truly heartbreaking.

My eyes become glassy with unshed tears as I continue down the path towards Tazuna's house. My resolve had become strong at this point. I vowed to complete this damn bridge, so little girls like the one we just met could live happily and carefree. I would help change their lives for the better, even if it killed me. It was the least I could do for them, considering how they have to live. I mean, what's one measly life compared to an entire town?

::

My eye twitches in annoyance as I watch Naruto and Sasuke swallow unnecessary amounts of food, each claiming that they would eat more than the other. Luckily enough, I was sitting next to Sakura on one side of the table so I didn't have to experience their vomiting up close and personal. Surprisingly enough, Sakura intervenes, scolding not only Naruto but Sasuke as well.

"Don't eat so much if you're just gonna throw it all up!" she shouts at the boys. Both Naruto and Sasuke pant as they start to shove food down their throats again.

"No! I will eat as much as I want!" Sasuke says. Naruto growls and swallows a piece of bread.

"And I will eat more than him so I become stronger!"

I sigh and just continue eating like a normal human being, deciding on ignoring the two idiots across from me.

"Excuse me, Tazuna, but I was wondering why that photo on the wall was ripped," Sakura asks. I listen in, curious as well.

Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami all stop what they were doing with grim looks on their faces. It seemed like it wasn't a very nice story.

"He was Inari's father... That man was once called a hero of this land." Tazuna starts. Without warning, Inari hastily stands from his seat and storms out of the room. Tsunami gasps and runs after him, leaving Team 7 and Tazuna alone.

"As I was saying, he was a man known as a hero. Back when he was still around, Inari would smile and laugh all of the time. But since the incident... Inari has changed. He barely has any life or vitality left in him, almost as if he were sucked dry of all of his happiness. It's all because of that day... The incident on that day..." Tazuna says, a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

He then goes on to explain how Inari met the man, and how he had lost his life because of Gato and his men, trying to protect the Land of Waves. By the end of the story, we all understood Inari and just how terrible the situation really is.

Finishing my dinner, I quickly go to bed in hopes of avoiding the others. After a story like that I really just wanted to be alone... Settling into bed, I close my eyes gently and pray for the safety of this town, drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

::

The days were quickly passing by, and the boys had finally finished their training, although Naruto used up too much energy on the last day of training, so while the rest of Team 7 accompanied Tazuna to the bridge, we left him to sleep in. I was having a pleasant conversation with Sakura as we were walking when I heard Tazuna gasp in alarm.

I look at him with curiosity, before my eyes settled on the bodies littering the ground. Sakura and I both run to the closest man, feeling for his pulse. Luckily enough, none of the men were dead, but the needles in each of their necks lead me to assume that Zabuza and the tracker ninja had gotten here, and were waiting for us to arrive so they could kill Tazuna once and for all.

Just as I expected, mist starts rolling in causing me to tense up.

"You know the drill," Kakashi-sensei states, and with a nod from each of us, we surround Tazuna with our kunai up. From beside me, Sasuke is shaking but when I glance at his face it's showing no signs of fear or hesitation. Instead, it showed clear determination and a hint of... excitement?

"Looks like you caught us... Is that one still shaking? How pitiful." Zabuza taunts, appearing from the mist in front of us with the guy who posed as a tracker ninja beside him. Sasuke smirks and glares at Zabuza.

"I'm shaking with excitement!" he states. I raise an eyebrow, so I was right. He was excited. I sigh and shake my head at his antics. Boys these days...

"Look at that guy, who does he think he is, hiding behind a mask," Kakashi-sensei taunts. Sakura and I give him incredulous looks. He was one to talk. Sasuke scoffed at the masked enemy beside Zabuza.

"Yeah, that's right, hiding behind a mask like some phony. What a joke."

With this statement, Sakura squeals and I swear I wasn't the only one who was giving her an unimpressed look. That's literally what Kakashi-sensei just said.

Within seconds, water clones of Zabuza surround us and I can tell that Sasuke is barely containing his initial reaction to destroy them. Kakashi-sensei, however, allows him to destroy them, and that is just what Sasuke does. The water clones fall apart, leaving the four of us safe once again.

"It seems like you have a rival, Haku."

The boy, Haku, I presume, nods from beside him.

"So it seems," He says quietly. Just from that small sentence, I could feel the tension being built up between Sasuke and Haku.

The two end up having a small brawl off to the side, with each boy being seemingly matched. As much as I want Sasuke would obliterate this guy, I can't help but think that he would have a hard time.

With a sick smirk, Zabuza readies his weapon, catching the attention of Kakashi-sensei who also readies a weapon of his own. I take a deep breath and settle my erratic heart, clenching my kunai tightly.

"Let the battle begin."

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