The Waves Liberation (3)

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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[Uzumaki Naruto's POV]

I woke up just a few minutes before sunset. I had overestimated my stamina. I shouldn't have slept for only three hours for the entirety of our travel and spent the rest of the resting time to train my physique. Good thing, the human body produces adrenaline. If it wasn't for adrenaline, I would have slept in the middle of my fight with Zabuza. With that said, I had a good sleep.

Getting out of my futon, I stood up and looked around the room. Sakura and Sasuke were still asleep. They looked likable when they were being peaceful like this. Unfortunately, they needed to wake up. We hadn't been eating well for the last two days to catch up to Kurenai's team, so they needed a proper dinner.

"Oy, wake up, you little squirts."

I shook their shoulders faintly, stirring them awake. That brought a light smile to my face. These little buggers had been bugging me for joint training, so I trained their awareness and alertness. It was good to see that the training was paying off. In a second, they stood up, looking ready to slit people's throats.

"We are going to have dinner."

They blinked their eyes and then relaxed their postures. They followed me silently as I got out of the room.

"Good job on your effort to defeat Zabuza's clone, by the way, Sasuke, Sakura," I said, referring to the battle we had at noon. "How was it?"

"It was intense," Sasuke stated. "I have to consciously fight off his killing intent."

"It was scary. It was very hard to catch the clone off guard." Sakura shivered. "I couldn't imagine what it felt to face the real one."

"How is your injury, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, glancing at my stomach.

"It's already healed. It was a minor injury."

"Anyone would consider themselves dead if they had their stomach cut open," Sakura pointed.

"News flash: I am Uzumaki Naruto."

I could feel the kids rolling their eyes. I chuckled lightly and they immediately followed. We arrived at the dining room a few seconds later. Kakashi, Kurenai, Kiba, and Tazuna were already at the dining table. Hinata and Shino were helping Tsunami who kept saying they should wait for the food at the table.

"Good morning, sleepyheads," Kakashi greeted in a bored tone.

"'Sup, Cyclops." I greeted back, much to Kurenai's bewilderment. A sucker for rules like her wouldn't be able to comprehend our relationship. "Did we miss something?"

"Nothing much. We were just talking about Tazuna-san's passion and his reason behind building the bridge."

"Oh, pray tell."

Although I already knew what Tazuna was going to talk about, I still listened to him as I sat at the table. At least, I made myself look like I was listening. Sasuke was busy brooding. On the other hand, Sakura was earnestly listening to the tragic story. She expressed how much she wanted to punch the guy named Gato.

Bam!

Suddenly, one of the doors connected to the dining room slammed open. A black-haired kid wearing a jumpsuit entered the dining room. Tazuna greeted the kid and then introduced him to us as his grandson. I watched in interest as the kid refused to introduce himself. He was as blatant as he was in the anime, saying that knowing his name would be a waste since we would die at Gato's hands eventually.

Tsunami was mortified. She rushed to the table and then apologized to us. She scolded the kid, but he stood by his belief. However, he was afraid enough of his mother to apologize to us, as non-committal as it was.

"Did something happen to cause him to be that cynical at such a young age?" I asked, turning to Tazuna.

Tazuna put his hand on Inari's head. "The man who was hailed as the hero of this country whom I have told you about, Kaiza, was a father figure to Inari. He looked up at Kaiza, but Gato killed him before everyone."

"I think that is enough," Kurenai interjected before Tazuna could say anything more. "It is improper to talk about a tragedy at the dining table."

She looked at me to make a point, but I didn't care. "Heroes come and go. Just because yours dies, it doesn't mean you should despair. Go find another Hero. Better yet, become on yourself."

Bam!

Inari hit the table indignantly. "Kaiza was the strongest and he still failed. What you are doing is futile. Go back to where you come from. You are only going to add numbers to Gato's victims."

"Inari! That was rude!" Tsunami reprimanded as she brought the food to the table.

"These guys don't know how it feels to suffer, yet. That is why they foolishly think they are going to win against Gato!"

"Inari…" Tsunami was at a loss for words.

"That is an interesting speech," I remarked in amusement, attracting everyone's attention. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how high would you rate your suffering?"

"Huh?"

"I will give you some parameters. Do you have to survive on your own? Do you have people abhorring your existence? Do you have people trying to kill you just because you breathe? Have you eaten alone during Christmas wondering why the others spend it with their family? Have you done something for others only for them to spite you? Have you ever been on your own?"

My bombardment of questions overloaded the little brain that Inari had in his head. I snapped my fingers to gain his attention and then smiled faintly.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how high would you rate your suffering?"

"…"

"You see, it's not about what you have gone through. It's about what you do after what you have gone through. Everyone has their own suffering. It is disrespectful to disregard others' sufferings and think that you suffer the most."

Inari looked at me and the table alternatingly before storming off. He was crying, but to his credit, he didn't make a fuss. The table was silent. The people watched me with varying emotions. I didn't want to delve into what they felt, but I could tell that none of them resented me for what I said.

"Ah, sorry to ruin the mood. I will make up with the brat later," I assured them with a professional.

"Don't worry about that, Naruto-san. I will properly talk to Inari tonight," Tsunami said with a bitter smile.

"Ah, so you already know my name. Sorry that I didn't get to introduce myself."

"It's fine…"

After everyone had their share, we ate in silence. Well, mostly. Kiba pestered me about how I had gotten so strong and Sasuke asked me what time we would train the next day. Thankfully, Sakura and Kurenai saved me from the two impulsive hormonal teens.

…

After the dinner, Kakashi and I went outside to have a conversation. Kurenai joined us before we could talk, leaving her team to do whatever they were doing in the house.

"I think it is not that hard to deduce that Zabuza is hired by Gato," I began. "I am planning on infiltrating Gato's hideout and collecting some important documents. I might encounter Zabuza, but I am confident that he is less threatening without his oversized sword."

"Do you know where his hideout is?" Kakashi inquired.

"Not yet. That is why I am going to investigate tonight. I don't think it will be hard since we have a lot of weak links to exploit. We can milk information from the bandits terrorizing the country."

"That is a risky plan, Naruto-san," Kurenai expressed with a frown. "In the chance that you got found out, I am afraid Gato would mobilize his force and take the entire country hostage. His lackeys might be thugs, but they can still kill the citizens fairly easily."

"We just have to make sure to finish them in one go, then." Kurenai looked at me in confusion, prompting me to add, "These bandits must have a common place to gather. We will infiltrate that place too."

"I think I have a better idea," Kakashi stated. "Naruto, why don't you infiltrate the bandits' hideout? Leave Gato's hideout infiltration to me."

"I shall help Naruto-san," Kurenai chimed in.

"No, you should watch the kids," Kakashi denied, much to my surprise. "We won't know what might happen to them in our absence. It is better to take a precaution."

Kurenai frowned lightly before nodding in agreement. I would have forced her to accept her role if she had insisted. Kakashi was right. Zabuza and Haku might be watching us somewhere. If we left Sasuke and the others alone, there was a high chance that they would use the kids against us. We shouldn't risk it.

We talked about our plan in more detail for roughly an hour and a half. As soon as the discussion concluded, I created six shadow clones to investigate. The Genin were very interested in what we talked about as they bugged us when we entered the house. Thankfully, a glare from Kurenai was enough to discourage them from asking further. 

I excused myself and went to the bathroom to clean up. I went straight to our room after cleaning myself and then immersed myself in Fūinjutsu study.

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Honorary Mention:

B0mbaCl0ckBob

Daoist Mufasa

Deividas Seputis

Florin Durbaca

Jamaul Pryor

Joseph Hollon

Luck George

Luis Fabiano

Zion X