With a bitter face, Sasuke wiped his mouth and tossed the water bottle aside. Thankfully, Naruto was quick and caught it.
"Hey, don't waste it."
He carefully tucked the flask back into his robe.
Sasuke, scowling, turned to leave in frustration, but Naruto reached out, put his arm around Sasuke's shoulder, and sat him down on the tree trunk beside him.
Sasuke wanted to resist, but was shocked to find that Naruto's arm felt like it was made of steel—he couldn't break free at all.
Before he realized it, Naruto had pressed him back down.
Such strength!
"So... why do you want to get stronger?"
Naruto's sudden question interrupted Sasuke's struggle and quickly shifted his thoughts.
He was silent for a while, then looked at Naruto's distant, world-weary expression. The "none of your business" he wanted to blurt out was swallowed back.
"...I've said it before: I want to kill that man."
He wanted to kill Uchiha Itachi.
The man who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan—his own brother.
"Revenge, huh?"
That's different from me.
Unlike Konohamaru, who was more like Naruto and wanted to become stronger to gain everyone's recognition, Sasuke's reason was simpler and more direct.
At the same time, it was one of the most common reasons Naruto had seen.
On that vast sea, beneath the grand clashes of the strong, the depths were filled with the tragedies and hatred of countless weaklings.
Small countries wiped out by the World Government, civilians murdered and robbed by pirates, friends killed by the navy.
Bloodshed never faded from the sea.
"And after revenge? Have you thought about what you'll do?"
Naruto suddenly turned to Sasuke and asked.
Sasuke was caught off guard by the question.
After revenge?
He had never thought about it.
It was as if the only thing left in his life was to seek vengeance, and even he didn't truly believe he could do it—so he had never considered what came after.
Seeing Sasuke's silence, Naruto smiled, took another sip of sake, and handed the flask back to him.
"My training will be very tough. When you can't take it anymore, drink a little. If you get drunk, it won't hurt."
Hearing this, Sasuke looked up in surprise at Naruto, then at the flask in his hand.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll train you."
"...Okay."
With Gato out of the way, the bridge construction progressed much faster than expected.
In just two or three days, they had already completed seventy to eighty percent of the planned work.
Sakura's wound had scabbed over, and she could move freely again.
Every day, she would go to the forest by the village to watch Naruto and Sasuke's training from a distance.
More precisely, she watched Naruto "train" Sasuke.
Although Sakura didn't have the eye of a true expert, after all they'd been through together, she could tell that Naruto was no longer the dead last he used to be.
But when she saw Naruto making Sasuke do push-ups with a giant rock on his back—while Naruto lounged on top of the rock, drinking—she almost couldn't hold back from rushing over.
Fortunately, reason won out.
She decided to ask Kakashi sensei for help. With such intense training, Sasuke was bound to get hurt.
But to Sakura's dismay, after one look, Kakashi simply concluded:
"Don't worry about them."
Then he added something that really hit Sakura's sore spot:
"Actually, Sakura, at this rate, you might soon fall behind Naruto and Sasuke."
That was putting it nicely.
In reality, according to Kakashi's observation, not to mention Naruto, even Sasuke's progress in just a few days had already far surpassed Sakura's.
The "tree climbing" that was supposed to take several days to master was shortened to a single day with Naruto's "teaching."
Naruto's exaggerated physical training for Sasuke also reminded Kakashi of his "good colleague," the Blue Beast of Konoha, Might Guy.
With this kind of training... let's hope Sasuke can still stand when we return to the village.
After being hit by Kakashi's words, Sakura resolved to start new training herself, even though her hand wasn't fully healed.
Perhaps because her chakra control was better than Sasuke's, Sakura also completed the "tree climbing" training in just a day.
Following Kakashi's advice, she focused on further improving her chakra control.
If I can't become as strong as them, maybe I can help the team in another way.
Looking at the still-healing wound on her hand, Sakura made up her mind.
The Genin of Team 7 all seized the chance to get stronger during this mission—including Naruto.
After this period of "rehabilitation," his physical strength had recovered from "barely a tenth" to almost a fifth of his peak.
In short, it had nearly doubled, as had his Armament Haki, which was now starting to "thicken."
He had also grown even taller, now confidently claiming to be the tallest in Team 7.
Due to individual differences, Sasuke's training results outpaced Konohamaru's by a lot.
By the last day of training, Naruto felt it was time to start teaching Sasuke about "Haki."
Start early.
After all, kids in the New World awakened Haki at a young age—Big Mom's kids were a good example.
Unconsciously, Naruto was already planning how to train Sasuke and Konohamaru, not for any particular reason or future plan, but simply because he enjoyed "raising" others, just like Roger and Rayleigh had done for him.
On the other side, the bridge in the Land of Waves was nearly complete, meaning Team 7's first "C-rank" mission was finished.
When the last bolt was tightened, Tazuna wiped the sweat from his brow and looked back in disbelief.
It was a wide, smooth bridge—a road to the future for the Land of Waves.
He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.
"The Great Bridge of the Land of Waves is finished!"
"Yeah!!!"
All the workers and villagers nearby cheered with joy. The completion of the bridge meant the Land of Waves could finally escape poverty and Gato's shadow.
That night, everyone gathered in the center of the village.
They sang and danced around a huge bonfire, many breaking out the good sake they'd normally never touch.
Naruto sat with the villagers, laughing, dancing, and drinking.
Even the cheap sake he usually disdained tasted like fine wine amid the laughter.
A party!
When you're happy, you throw a party!
That was Naruto's idea.
Nearby, Tazuna's grandson Inari watched the celebration, remembered his father who died resisting Gato, and couldn't help but smile through his tears.
Sakura noticed, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the boy's face.
Even Sasuke, usually so aloof, joined in and drank a few cups—perhaps thanks to Naruto's influence these past few days.
Inari ran over to Naruto and suddenly hugged his leg.
"Thank you..."
The child's muffled voice reached Naruto, who laughed and hoisted Inari onto his shoulder.
"Oi, kid, no matter what, never give up on courage."
He wore a smile just like Roger's, and Inari, looking at that face, couldn't help but smile back.
"Mm!"
The joyful atmosphere continued with singing and dancing.
The shadow of Gato, which had hung over the Land of Waves, seemed to vanish with the completion of the bridge.
Only Kakashi, quietly reading the latest volume of "Make-Out Paradise," knew that all this was probably thanks to Naruto.
...
A night passed, and Naruto had no idea how much he drank.
When he woke up again, he instinctively reached for something to cover his eyes.
But his hand grabbed nothing.
"Hey, Naruto, how long are you going to sleep?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice reached Naruto's ears, making him open his eyes at once.
What he saw was the red-haired pirate crew packing up their things—and that grinning uncle's face.
"I'm... back again?"
[Chapter Complete]
***
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