Naruto: The new beginning

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In the evening, the team of four—Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi—headed home with Tazuna after a long day of work on the bridge.

Naruto had pushed himself to the point of exhaustion, as usual.

The strain from maintaining 30 shadow clones all day finally caught up with him. 

As the clones dispersed and their fatigue returned to his body, Naruto staggered and began to fall forward.

Kakashi caught him just in time, pulling him onto his back. Naruto laughed, feeling a familiar warmth from Kakashi, a bond he cherished.

'Just for this, Kakashi, I'll get Jiraiya's autograph for you one day,' Naruto thought.

Unaware of Naruto's thoughts, Kakashi sighed and spoke softly, "Naruto, using shadow clones to train can speed up your progress, but it also doubles the fatigue. You're pushing yourself too hard. If you keep this up, you'll hurt yourself."

Naruto brushed off the concern with a grin, "It's fine, sensei. I'll just sleep it off tonight."

But deep down, he knew he couldn't continue at this pace. They were not in Konoha; they were in dangerous territory. 

Zabuza could attack at any moment. He needed to be more careful with how many clones he used the next day.

It wasn't that Naruto wanted to work himself to death—it was the fox's reminder that made him doubt whether he could make progress without facing a life-and-death crisis. 

In his previous life, he'd lived a comfortable, sheltered life, far from any real danger. 

He'd never even met a thief in 20 years, let alone experienced a true sense of crisis. 

He used to be an ordinary student who liked to quietly level up in games until he could overpower others with ease.

Now, in this world, Naruto had plenty of ways to protect himself. Unless the entire Akatsuki gang showed up to snatch Kurama, it was hard for him to feel any real danger.

Kakashi then turned to Sasuke, offering advice. "Sasuke, with your current stamina, using Chidori four or five times a day is your limit. It's not that you don't have enough chakra, but Chidori puts a huge strain on your body."

"Yeah," Sasuke replied, his face pale. He was so drained that he needed Sakura's help to walk. 

Sasuke didn't say much. He had been pushing himself hard, trying to keep up with Naruto's insane training regime. 

But even with his Sharingan, Sasuke felt like he was no match for Naruto's monstrous stamina.

Sakura didn't expend as much energy as the others. She spent most of her time studying medical books, taking breaks every hour or two for physical training to stay in shape; her goal was clear: to become a qualified medical ninja as quickly as possible.

Because of this, she could now carry Sasuke on the road with a contented smile. 

Back at Tazuna's house, Kakashi laid Naruto down at the dining table. Sakura reluctantly let go of Sasuke's hand.

Seeing Tazuna's tired face and Naruto and Sasuke covered in dust, Inari couldn't help but think of his father. Tears welled up in his eyes as he cried out.

"Why do you all work so hard? No matter how hard you try, you can't beat Gato's men. Why do you even fight?!!!"

After shouting, Inari ran back to his room and locked the door.

"Inari..." Tsunami, concerned for her son, chased after him.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke exchanged confused glances, but Naruto seemed to understand. 

He remembered the reason behind Inari's outburst. Frankly, Naruto didn't like the kid's attitude.

Naruto had to resist the urge to smack Inari, reminding himself, "He's just a kid." What's the point of arguing with an 8-year-old when Naruto himself was only 12?

There were plenty of kids who had gone through worse. Look at the children in the Konoha orphanage, or even Sasuke, who lost his entire family. Heck, even Kakashi lost his father at a young age. 

Did these people give up? No. The real problem was this messed-up ninja world. 

Maybe if Madara Uchiha had forcibly united the world and then let Hashirama Senju rule with a softer touch, things might have been better.

But that was a pipe dream. Both Madara and Hashirama were too stubborn. And with Black Zetsu manipulating things behind the scenes, chaos was inevitable. 

But was Black Zetsu wrong? After all, he was trying to save his mother by any means necessary.

In the end, it all came down to the gods who created this world. Their whims led to tragedies everywhere.

"That kid was never like this before," Tazuna began to explain Inari's backstory to everyone. 

It turned out that when Gato first arrived in the Land of Waves, he used fear to control the people. 

Inari's father, who dared to resist, became an example—killed by Gato to crush the spirit of the entire country.

Ironically, Inari's father had an X-shaped scar on his chin. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this guy was somehow related to Danzo, remembering the conspiracy theories he used to joke about when watching the anime.

The team couldn't do much to help. Naruto knew that no amount of talking would solve Inari's psychological issues. 

After all, they were ninjas, not therapists. They couldn't just wave away his problems.

Their job was to deal with Gato, and once he was out of the picture, Inari might start to heal. Until then, they'd focus on their mission.

After a quiet dinner, everyone went back to rest.

The next morning, Naruto was full of energy again, as if he hadn't been dead tired the day before.

Sasuke, however, was still recovering. He clenched his fists, frustrated.

"Damn it, how long will it take to catch up to him?"

Kakashi noticed the state of his students. In the past, it wasn't as obvious. 

But now, with Naruto around, Sasuke's progress seemed more normal in comparison.

They started their training as usual. Naruto decided to halve the number of shadow clones he used, saving more energy for potential emergencies.

Sasuke hadn't fully recovered yet, so he took it easier than before. Sakura continued her routine of studying and physical exercise, sticking to her own pace.

Kakashi was pleased. His students seemed to be listening to his advice, and as a teacher, it was satisfying to see. 

Even the way he turned the pages of his book was more relaxed.

Thanks to the calm weather the day before, a few more workers had come to help Tazuna with the bridge, speeding up the project slightly.

And so, three days passed, with a small boat slowly rowing across the sea...

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