Blood, Sweat, & Tears [Naruto Various x f!Reader]

Chapter 11 ~ The Land Where a Hero Once Lived

A/N: Features the events of episode 11

Warnings: poverty, mentions of death and violence, cursing

You were sweaty and panting by the time you reached the top, but you were still doing better than Sasuke and Naruto with the chakra control practice. After spending the morning practicing running up a tree, you were exhausted. You could hardly fathom how Naruto and Sasuke had so much energy, and yet they kept going.

You were dismissed from training to assist Sakura in defending Tazuna from potential threats. The walk through the poor town was depressing to say the least. It was an impoverished district, waterlocked like the rest of its nation by great swelling tides of frothy seawater. The shantytown had cheap homes, patched holes covering the roof or walls with whatever materials could be spared from construction. You had seen destitution within the Leaf Village, but nothing so blatant and exposed...

Is this what Gato has done with the lands he practically controls? Your fists clenched. Arrogant bastard... I'll help build the damn bridge if it means these people won't have to suffer any longer.

When you found Sakura, she was sitting down and yawning, back hunched over and elbows resting on her knees. You gestured to the men. "It must be difficult to work in this humidity."

"What? Oh, yeah..." Sakura patted the turned over bucket next to her. "I don't know how they all carry those heavy pieces of metal or lumber."

You sighed as you scanned the scene for Tazuna. "Lots and lots of weight-lifting and practice, I can only assume." As Tazuna walked this way to pick up more material, you asked, "Sir, is there any way I could help you?"

Tazuna shook his head. "Just sit right there and stay out of the way. This isn't a girl's work."

"'A girl's work,'" you repeated, baffled, as he walked away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura giggled. "You look funny when you're in outrage."

As she laughed, you couldn't help but smile. Her joy was infectious, and who wouldn't be satisfied that a beautiful girl like her was happy because of something they said. You blushed slightly as you stared at her. Gorgeous indeed...

A couple of hours into the afternoon, one of the bridgemen approached Tazuna nervously. "You got a minute, Tazuna?"

"Huh? What's up, Giichi?"

Giichi averted his shameful gaze to the ground. "Uh, actually... I gave it a lot of thought. Building this bridge... Will you let me quit?"

"Why so suddenly? Not you, too?!"

"Tazuna, I've had a bond with you from the old days. I'd like to cooperate, but if we push it too far, Gato will set high sights on us, too. Also, if you get killed, everything is lost! Why don't you just stop building the bridge?"

You and Sakura watched intensely.

"Not a chance." Tazuna growled. "This is our bridge. This is the bridge that everyone in town has built believing that it would generate distribution and transportation for this poor Land of Waves that has few resources."

"But if it goes so far as to take our lives..." Giichi's voice was aggressive and panicked now.

Tazuna let a moment of silence hang between them. "It's afternoon already. Let's call it a day." He walked past his friend.

"Tazuna!" Giichi held up a hand as if imploring him to stop.

Tazuna did, adjusting the yellow hard-hat on his head. "Giichi, you don't have to come back tomorrow." Then he walked off to tell the rest of the crew that their day was over.