Naruto: Jinchuriki of the Six Paths by X009

Chapter 2

Tazuna and his family, along with a single worker stood across from the party of ninja on the bridge linking the country to the mainland. The bridge which had been the only hope of their nation had, after so long, finally been completed and it was time for the leaf shinobi and the two missing nin to say their goodbyes to the recovering nation.

"I'd like to apologize again for aiding Gato." Haku said, bowing his head slightly.

"No problem, that's all water under the bridge. Thanks to all of you, in the end we completed the bridge and our land is free from that tyrant's clutches. But, it's sad to see you guys go." Tazuna said, resting his hand on Inari's head. "Thanks for everything."

"Don't worry, we'll be sure to visit." Naruto grinned.

"You... better..." Inari said, shaking with the effort of holding back his tears.

Naruto's smile fell as he too struggled to hold back tears before his expression returned to a grin, though he continued shaking. "You sad Inari? It's ok to cry, you know?"

"I'm not going to cry!" Inari yelled. "But you can cry if you want to."

"Fine... later." Naruto replied, turning his back on Inari. Looking back at Naruto, one could see that, like Inari, he now had tears streaming from his eyes.

Sakura looked at Naruto with a slightly annoyed expression. 'Geez... they're like twins!'

'This kid's got a long way to go before he becomes a true shinobi...' Zabuza thought.

"That boy... he changed Inari's heart. And Inari changed the people's hearts. That boy brought courage back to this nation." the bridge builder said as he watched the ninja's retreating figures.

"Oh, yeah. We need to name this bridge, don't we?" the worker asked.

"Well, I have a perfect name for it."

"Oh? What is it?" Tsunami asked her father.

"How about... the Great Naruto Bridge?" Tazuna replied. The smiles from the others told him they agreed.

That night, Team 7, Zabuza and Haku rested at a small camp, sitting around a campfire.

"What's Konoha like?" Haku asked, glancing around the camp fire. "You said they see Kekkei Genkai as valuable?"

"That's right, the philosophy is that every true Konoha shinobi must love, believe, cherish and fight for the village's sake, as many previous generations had done before them. Bloodlines are seen as a valuable tool for the shinobi possessing them that allow them to better protect the village, and as such are seen in a more positive light than in Kiri, where it's believed they exist solely to wage wars." Kakashi explained.

"I see... I must admit, I'm looking forward to seeing this." Haku said.

"I still find it hard to believe that your Hokage will give us a chance just like that." Zabuza spoke.

"Don't worry about it. You'll see, the old man's sure to help you guys." Naruto assured them confidently.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice was heard the first time since they left Wave. It surprised team 7 even more, since Sasuke rarely spoke to the blonde, out of all people

"Huh, what do you want, Sasuke?" Naruto turned to his teammate. Sasuke seemed to be more condescending to him than usual. Naruto was unaware of the reason behind it - Sasuke believed Naruto was becoming stronger than him, part of him found it unacceptable while the other side refused to acknowledge the possibility.

"How did you beat Haku?" Sasuke asked. Naruto stared into the campfire, trying once again to recall the events of the battle in vain.

After a moment, the blonde replied. "... I don't know."