#30 - Chapter 30 Captain's Responsibility: The Story of the Cowardly Inari and the Brave Stepfa
"I'm going out for a bit."
Naruto said suddenly, then left the room expressionlessly.
Sakura watched Naruto's departing figure, feeling a sense of desolation about him, and looked at Kakashi with some confusion, "Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong with Naruto?"
"Naruto... maybe he just wants to get some fresh air."
Kakashi watched Naruto leave, then turned to Sakura with a smile, "Come on, tell me if there's anything that feels uncomfortable in your body?"
......
Outside,
Naruto stood alone on the roof, gazing at the dark night sky, letting the cold wind blow across his cheeks.
During the time since Team 7 was formed,
his friendship with Sasuke and Sakura had been quietly changing.
From strangers and classmates to teammates, and then to so-called comrades!
In mission after mission, Sasuke and Sakura regarded him as their backbone, trusting him and relying on him, and he inevitably took on the responsibilities and obligations of a leader.
Although... Kakashi was the nominal leader.
However, Kakashi didn't really manage them much; during missions, it was basically just the three of them doing it themselves!
So Sasuke and Sakura simply regarded Kakashi as a Jonin instructor, or a teacher!
And Naruto, who was the strongest and had led Sasuke and Sakura through the graduation exam, was the leader in their hearts!
As a leader, Naruto hadn't realized what he was responsible for before.
He only felt that he was the strongest, so Sasuke and Sakura should listen to him.
Little did he know that in dangerous missions, Sasuke and Sakura were entrusting their lives to him!
After a while,
Kakashi suddenly appeared beside Naruto, "I've examined Sakura, and she doesn't have any serious injuries, just some scrapes, she'll be fine soon."
"Okay," Naruto replied without turning his head.
"You don't need to blame yourself too much. In missions, we always encounter all kinds of enemies. It's common for some enemies to be cunning and hard to guard against," Kakashi comforted.
"I know."
Naruto said calmly, "I'm not too concerned about the failure. I came up here just to get some air and clear my head, in order to prepare for the next mission."
Looking at Naruto's profile, Kakashi wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not.
But he knew that Naruto wasn't the type to wallow in self-pity!
Once faced with difficulties and failures, what Naruto thought about was never denying himself, but thinking about how to do better in order to solve the difficulties and prevent himself from failing again!
Perhaps Naruto was indeed blaming himself for his improper command this time, but he would never be consumed by it!
After a moment of silence, Kakashi suddenly smiled and said, "Mr. Tazuna's daughter has made us a sumptuous dinner, it's about time we went down to eat."
"You go first, I'll be there soon," Naruto said without turning his head.
"Ah, then come quickly, or the food will get cold." After saying that, Kakashi jumped off the roof without paying attention to Naruto.
Naruto stayed in place alone for a while longer before jumping off the roof.
However, as he jumped down, he made eye contact with a child by the window on the third floor.
The child was crying by the window, crying loudly as he looked at the sea......
The two made eye contact for a second in mid-air, then Naruto disappeared.
"Ah!!"
Inari was stunned for a second, then let out a terrified cry.
Anyone who was leaning by the window and saw someone jump down from their building so close to them would find it hard to stay calm.
He quickly crawled to the window to look, but he didn't see Naruto's figure.
Is he dead?
Inari thought to himself and subconsciously leaned closer to look, but unexpectedly his hand slipped, causing him to lose his balance and fall towards the window.
"Ah!!!"
"Help... help me!"
Inari shouted for help anxiously, but it seemed like it was too late.
At this moment, he was falling rapidly, about to hit the ground headfirst, when a flash of gold suddenly flashed past and saved him.
Inari was being held by Naruto with one hand, somewhat dazed.
He looked down and found that he was less than half a meter away from the ground.
"I... I'm saved?"
Inari muttered to himself, then felt his body being lowered.
He looked up and found a boy not much taller than him.
"You're a ninja from Konoha, right?" Inari asked.
Naruto glanced at him, ignored him, and turned to leave.
He didn't really like this kid Inari. If it weren't for the fact that his life was in danger, he wouldn't even bother to meet him.
"Since you saved me, I advise you to leave quickly!"
"You are no match for Gato. If you stay here, you will be killed sooner or later!"
Inari shouted at Naruto's back, but the only response he got was one sentence.
"Idiot!"
Naruto really couldn't understand how Inari's brain worked.
Because of his own inner timidity and cowardice, he drove away the Konoha ninja who were protecting his grandfather.
What? Did you want your grandfather to die?
But on second thought, the people of the Land of Waves weren't very smart.
Inari, who 'loved Konoha ninjas' more than his grandfather.
Tazuna, who superstitiously believed that a bridge could save the Land of Waves.
Gato, the villain with clumsy methods who wanted to defeat ninjas with thugs.
He even knew to send ninjas to assassinate Tazuna, but didn't know to occupy the bridge or kidnap Tazuna's family to threaten him!
If he had attacked Tazuna's family from the start, would there still be this situation?
By the time Gato remembered to deal with Tazuna's family, it was already too late!
Simply hopelessly stupid!
As for Zabuza and Haku.....
It's hard to say about Haku. If Haku was foolish, it was his own choice.
His inner kindness didn't allow him to act like Zabuza, otherwise Naruto would have been killed the first time he met Haku.
As for Zabuza, from a ninja's point of view, it's not a problem to be cautious about the mission and do intelligence gathering first.
But unfortunately, he missed their best chance of winning because of it!
At night, Team 7 and Tazuna's family sat together to eat.
The Land of Waves was not rich in resources, and Tazuna was not wealthy either.
But in order to make sure Naruto and the others had enough to eat, Tazuna still had Tsunami make a lot of food.
"Why is this photo missing a corner? I saw Inari staring at this photo the whole time he was eating," Sakura, who had a small appetite, finished eating first and came to the wall where a damaged photo was hanging.
Everyone except Naruto and Sasuke stopped chewing and was silent for a second.
"He is my husband," Tsunami said in a low voice, as if the photo had evoked bad memories.
"Ms. Tsunami's husband?" Sakura asked in surprise.
"Yes, he was also a man who was called a hero by everyone in the town in the past!" Tazuna added.
Hearing everyone mention Kaiza, Inari suddenly got up with a gloomy face.
Seeing this, Tsunami asked anxiously, "Inari, where are you going?"
However, Inari didn't answer her, just closed the door and left straight away.
"Inari, what's wrong with him?" Sakura asked.
Looking at Tazuna, who hadn't spoken for a long time, Kakashi looked like he was watching a show, "It seems like there's a hidden story~"
"Yes."
Tazuna nodded and said, "Kaiza is Inari's stepfather with no blood relation, but they had a great relationship, just like a real father and son. Inari was a smiling child at that time, but... but... everything changed later!"
"Ever since that incident happened to his father!"
Watching Tazuna shed tears, Naruto, who had just finished eating, got up and left without saying a word.
He wasn't interested in listening to other people's tragic stories, especially ones he already knew.
"Naruto?"
"I'm full, I'm leaving first."
Naruto waved to Sakura and disappeared from the room.
Sasuke watched Naruto's departing figure, hesitated for a moment, and also got up and followed.
He wasn't very interested in other people's stories either.
The whole room was left with Kakashi and Sakura listening to Tazuna tell the story of the cowardly Inari and the brave stepfather.
