Inari
"Isn't it just a big sword?"
"No" Shaking his head, Naruto continued "It's one of the legendary 7 swords, it has a special power."
"Special power?" approaching Naruto, Sasuke asked "What power?"
"If the sword loses its edge or breaks, all you need to do is cut someone with it and the sword will absorb the enemy's blood to regenerate."
"The sword regenerates itself?" With surprise in his eyes, Sasuke asked.
"Mn" Nodding, Naruto continued "Every legendary sword is highly coveted among swordsmen, so it's best to hide its form and thus avoid malicious looks."
"Won't the bandage be cut by the edge?"
"It's not sharp enough to cut at a single touch, but I'll put more than one layer on it anyway."
"Is it too heavy?" Seeing Naruto's bruised arms, Sakura asked.
"Try to lift it."
Crouching down next to Naruto, Sakura took the handle with both her hands and tried to lift it, then frowned slightly and pulled it with all her might upwards, but hopefully managing to lift it a few inches "This... it's very heavy"
"It'll take me a while to get the strength to carry it without clones" Nodding, Naruto continued to wrap the sword and continued "And I can't stop thinking about how monstrous Zabuza was as to throw this sword around like it was nothing"
"Is it okay for children to play with that?" watching the trio converse in the distance, Tsunami asked with concern.
"Don't judge it by their age, those kids are monsters" Sitting down in front of a short table, Tazuna snorted "They kept this old father of yours alive, so treat them well."
"They... are they ninjas?" Focusing for the first time on the protectors on his forehead, Tsunami asked in surprise, then opening her eyes a little wider and looking at her father with concern "And how come they protected your life?"
"We were attacked twice on the way" Sitting down in front of Tazuna, Kakashi crossed his legs and continued "It wasn't an easy trip."
"But don't worry, this time I managed to bring back very strong ninja!" noticing the growing concern on his daughter's face, Tazuna pointed towards the sword in Naruto's hands and continued "See that giant sword? It belonged to a famous legendary ninja who was very strong, but yet he was beaten like a stray dog very easily!"
"But doesn't that mean Gatoh sent stronger people?" with even more concern, Tsunami asked.
"Don't worry" Shaking his head, Kakashi continued "It's not as easy as you think to get elite ninja, I seriously doubt he has another one like Zabuza, more so knowing his conflicting personality."
"Sigh" Holding her hand to her chest with a sigh of relief, Tsunami nodded, then turned in the direction of the kitchen as she commented "I'll be right back with something to drink, I'll be preparing the food."
"Sake!"
"You will not drink in this house!"
"Tsk" Clicking his tongue while folding his arms, Tazuna turned his gaze towards the trio of youngsters who were still conversing and stood in silence for a moment, then looked at Kakashi and asked "Naruto... is that boy alright?"
Turning his gaze to Naruto, Kakashi observed his neutral face as he spoke and sighed "It's complicated... that boy experienced a lot of sadness in his short life... lately he had a major loss and although that motivated him to train as you know he trains, his behavior has changed considerably."
"He used to be different?"
"He was a mess" Shaking his head, Kakashi continued "He painted the hokages' faces like clowns, played pranks all over the place, was last in grades and almost failed the academy... but in spite of all that, he never showed any malice, and although he was mischievous, he always stood out as a happy and affectionate child"
"Sigh It's amazing how pain changes people" Sighing thoughtfully, Tazuna muttered absently.
"Grandpa!"
"Inari, where were you?" With joy in his voice, Tazuna opened his arms happily received the little boy's embrace, then stroked his head and smiled at him.
"Inari, say hello. These ninjas are what escorted your grandfather" Arriving from the kitchen with cups of herbal tea, Tsunami looked sternly at the little boy.
"Don't worry" Receiving the tea, Kakashi turned to the trio and shouted "Boys, come"
"Mom, they'll die" Clinging to his grandfather as an uncommon look on a child's face scanned them closely, Inari continued "It's impossible for one person to beat Gatoh."
"And that's why we are we will win, since there are four of us" With a sudden smile, Naruto sat down next to Kakashi and commented.
"No one can beat Gatoh!" clinging to his grandfather tighter, Inari exclaimed.
"Why?" with an amused smile while receiving the cup of Tea, Naruto asked.
"Because he has a lot of money and a big army!"
"We have a big army too!"
"You're lying!" looking sideways, Inari stood up and pointed towards Naruto while shouting at him.
"You want to see our army?"
"There is no army!"
"Yes there is!"
"Lies!"
"Look at this" Crossing his fingers, Naruto instantly filled his entire house with clones startling Tsunami who narrowly knocked over the remaining cups, while Inari opened his eyes wide and looked at the dozens of Naruto around his "Now do you believe me?"
"..."
"And there may be many more" Making all his clones disappear, Naruto smiled reassuringly at the boy and continued "That Gatoh guy is going to want to cry every time he sees us."
"No one can beat Gatoh!" shaking his head furiously as his eyes reddened, Inari looked at Naruto and continued angrily "So you better leave before you die!"
"Inari!"
"Sniff" With tears falling, Inari instantly lowered his head at his mother's scream and quickly ran off towards the staircase, only to climb up and disappear from sight.
"I'm sorry" With a sad and embarrassed face, Tsunami looked at Naruto and continued "Inari... he lost a very important person and has been very sad about it."
"Don't worry, I know that losses are not easy to overcome" Looking towards the staircase, Naruto stood up and turned his gaze towards Tsunami "Will you allow me to go talk to him?"
"This..."
"Go ahead" Nodding over his daughter's hesitation, Tazuna continued "He must be in his room"
"Thank you."
Looking at Naruto's back as he walks away, Sakura raised her eyebrows and commented "Why now he seems in a good mood? I could have sworn a minute ago he was ready to kill the first person he saw"
"Father..." With concern, Tsunami looked at Tazuna doubtfully.
"Don't worry" Looking at Tsunami, Kakashi continued "Even if Naruto doesn't seem very trustworthy, he's a good guy."
Slowly climbing the stairs, Naruto looked at the long hallway in front of him and walked, managing to hear after a few steps a pitiful sobbing from the room to his left.
Slowly opening the door, Naruto looked at the child crying inconsolably while looking at the picture in his hand sitting in front of a large window with a beautiful view of the sea, and then approached him and sat down next to him.
Startled by noticing the person who appeared next to him, Inari looked at his face and recognizing him instantly, shouted "What do you want!?"
"It's hard, isn't it?" staring out to sea, Naruto continued in a soft voice "Losing the ones you love... it's heartbreaking."
"You don't know anything!"
"You think you're the only one who has lost a loved one in his life?" turning his gaze towards Inari, Naruto raised his eyebrows and continued "You think you're the only one who suffers?"
"How could someone like you suffer!?"
"I just got tired of crying" Shaking his head, Naruto looked back at the sea and continued "I... never knew my parents, I grew up all alone in a cold place while everyone around me had nothing but hatred for me."
"Sniff" Staring at Naruto, Inari finally fell silent.
"But amongst everyone's hatred, there was one person who believed in me, even though I behaved like an idiot" With a bittersweet smile, Naruto continued "He never looked down on me or treated me badly like the others, instead he always motivated me to better myself and even though he was a grump, I know now that he only wanted the best for me..."
"Sniff Th-then you're not alone, liar."
"See this" Pointing to his forehead protector on his neck, Naruto continued "I got it after he died..."
"Sniff"
"He died because of me, trying to save my foolish life" Shaking his head while smiling painfully, Naruto continued looking lostly towards the sea and continued "That day, I lost everything for the second time... it really tore me apart"
"Sniff" Turning his gaze towards the sea, Inari remained silent for a long time and asked awkwardly "H-how did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"F-forget everything"
"That's impossible" Shaking his head, Naruto continued "And why would I want to forget it to begin with?"
"B-because Sniff it hurts so much..." Crying uncontrollably again while squeezing the frame with his father's picture tightly, Inari sobbed "I-I miss him so much Sniff"
"And that just means that you cherished him with all your heart, just like I guess he cherished you" Stirring the boy's hair, Naruto continued "And even if it hurts, would you really want to forget all the nice times you spent with him?"
"Sniff N-no..."
"I heard what happened with your father..." With a sad smile, Naruto continued "He really was a hero to be admired."
"N-no he wasn't!" with sadness, Inari continued "H-heroes are the strongest and always defeat evil Snifft-they don't die Sniff nor a-abandon anyone"
"So the strongest man is a hero?"
"Y-yes... Sniff"
"You know... in my opinion, not only was your father a true hero, but your grandfather is one too" Looking out to sea, Naruto continued "A true hero is not one who has great strength and helps while he can... in my opinion, a true hero is one who even knowing he can't win, even if he's filled with fear, still goes forward and decides to give his all for the ones he loves... don't you think so?"
"Sniff"
"Tell me, which has more value to you... a strong man who fights against the weak just because he is strong, or a weak man who fights against the strong?"
"Sniff"
"Inari?"
"A-a weak one who fights against the strong..."
"That's right, and do you know why?"
"N-no..."
"Because it's easy to fight something that you know won't hurt you... let's say for example the following, you would fight an ant?"
"I-I just squash it..."
"And that's because the ant is weak, right?"
"Sniff Yes..."
"And you would fight a giant bear?"
"N-no..."
"And that's because the bear is very strong."
"Mn..."
"And would you fight the bear if it wanted to eat your mother?"
"C-of course I would!"
"That's the attitude!" Laughing softly, Naruto stared into the boy's teary eyes and continued "That means you're a real hero, just like your father and grandfather."
"M-my grandfather?"
"If you know that villain Gatoh wants to hurt your grandfather, don't you?"
"Yes..."
"And why is that?"
"B-because my grandpa wants to make a bridge for people..."
"And yet, knowing that Gatoh would hurt him, he kept working on the bridge... why would he do that?"
"..." Remaining silent for a moment, Inari muttered "B-because he wants to help everyone"
"Wouldn't that make him a hero?"
"Mn"
"You know...really those kids in the village must be very envious of you"
"W-why?"
"Because unlike their silly parents who hide out of fear, yours was incredibly cool" Sighing dramatically, Naruto continued "Even your grandfather is incredibly brave and admirable... sigh even I'm envious"
"Mn... they're really cool" Nodding after a moment, Inari wiped the tears running down his cheek with his forearm and looked up at Naruto "W-why are you telling me all this?"