The Legend of Konoha's Shooting Star

Symbol of Courage

"AHH!! Ouch!!" Naruto yelled as he fell for the umpteenth time in a row, cradling his aching head. He had bumps on top of his bumps! But even so, out of the four of them, he still had the  most energy left. Sasuke and April were taking a knee, panting as they took a short break and tried to catch their breath. Although she wasn't  sprinting up the tree anymore, just as Kakashi-sensei had predicted, it was taking a lot out of her trying to keep up with the others. Without the extra momentum to aid her, she was only beating Naruto by a few centimeters.

'I'm worn out...' Sakura thought, also panting, as she lay at the bottom of her tree, watching the others. They were all drenched in sweat. Even though she was leaps and bounds ahead of the others, Sensei was still making her practice some more, and she now had to go up and down using only her feet. 'What stamina those three have...' They'd been going at it for ages without stopping. 'But Naruto isn't improving at all. It's about time for him to give up and start complaining.'

"Damn it!!" Naruto cursed, stomping his foot in frustration.

'I knew it! He sure is easy to read... huh?' she thought, surprised when he came over to talk to her instead of just stomping off or throwing a fit.

"Umm... Umm...! Hey, can you give me some tips!?" he asked earnestly as he squatted down beside her, keeping his voice low so the others wouldn't hear. It was kind of embarrassing, being the first one to ask for help. April smiled slightly when she saw what he was up to. Naruto was really starting to grow up.

'He's going to get stronger and stronger. But just how strong?' Kakashi wondered as he watched. 'Naruto, the amount of potential chakra you have is most likely greater than Sasuke's... and even my own... I'm really looking forward to this...'

"Huaah..." Sakura let out a big yawn as she stretched her arms. While the others kept training, she had been sent to watch over Tazuna-san while he continued his work on the bridge.

"You sure seem bored all by yourself," the old man remarked as he strolled past her toting a beam over his shoulder. "Where're the blonde and purple-haired kids and the other one?"

"They're training."

"You don't have to?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Since I'm so superior, Kakashi-sensei asked me to protect you," Sakura stated proudly.

"Really?" Tazuna asked skeptically, looking extremely doubtful of her skills. Wasn't she the weakest one?

"..." A vein throbbed on Sakura's head. She clearly didn't appreciate the sarcasm.

"Urgh!" Tazuna groaned as he leaned over and set down the beam he was carrying. This work was tough on the back.

"Hey, Tazuna!!" one of the other men working on the bridge called out.

"Hn? What is it, Giichi?" Tazuna asked as he wiped away some of the sweat on his face.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, and... Can I stop working on the bridge?" Giichi asked.

"W-Why is that!!?" Tazuna shouted incredulously, taken aback. "This is so sudden!! Not you, too!!"

"Tazuna, we've been close for long time now. I want to help you, but if we continue this, Gatō will notice us. And if you get killed, then what's  the point?" Giichi asked grimly. "Why don't we stop now... building this bridge..."

"..." Sakura watched the two old men with a worried expression on her face.

"I can't do that," Tazuna said firmly after a moment of silence. "This bridge is our bridge. This is the bridge we started building together believing it would bring more resources into our super poor country."