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"Naruto-Kun?" Mikoto called in a soft but audible voice as she spotted the red-haired young man while making her way to the market with her two children.
"It is good to see you, Mikoto-nee-san. How are you doing?" Naruto said with a warm smile, seeing the woman approaching.
"Oba-chan!" Mito called with an excited voice as she rushed towards the woman along with Karin
"Naruto-Ni-san," came Sasuke's voice as his face brightened upon seeing Naruto.
"It is so good to see you girls," Mikoto said with a warm tone and smile as she patted the little girls' heads.
"Naruto-san," Itachi greeted him with his usual even tone.
"Good to see you, Itachi," Naruto replied with a smile before looking back at Mikoto
"How are you doing, Nee-san? Is everything going fine?" Naruto asked while very subtly emphasizing 'everything,' which only Mikoto picked up on.
"I am fine, Naruto-kun. Everything is changing slowly but on the right track." Mikoto replied with a warm smile.
"That is good to hear," Naruto replied with a small smile.
Itachi glanced between his mother and Naruto. He could guess what they were talking about, but he didn't comment or interrupt.
"You are going out with the girls?" Mikoto asked while looking between Naruto and his little sisters.
"Yeah, I wanted to spend some time with them since I was very busy until recently," Naruto said with a warm smile.
"Well, isn't that sweet?" Mikoto said as she gently ruffled Mito's hair, who grinned at her.
"How is it going with you, Itachi? Is everything going fine with you and your team?" Naruto said with the simple intention of seeing how the young Uchiha is doing.
What he didn't expect was for the warm atmosphere to suddenly change as Naruto saw Itachi and Mikoto subtly tense, with Itachi looking slightly away.
"Ahh..." That sigh came out of Naruto's mouth. He knew something wrong had happened.
Very wrong.
"Want to talk about it?" Naruto offered with a soft tone.
"I…" Itachi didn't fully know what to say as he looked at his mother, who looked back at him and gave an encouraging nod.
The kids looked at them with confused expressions, not knowing what was going on.
Itachi stayed quiet for a moment before simply nodding.
"I am taking the girls to the park. How about getting these two out of your hair and taking them with me, Nee-san?" Naruto said with slight humor in his voice. Wanting to ease up the atmosphere.
"Oh, that would be wonderful, Naruto-kun. I haven't had some me time in a long time." Mikoto said a bit dramatically, making Naruto chuckle.
"Then let's go," Naruto said, encouraging Itachi and the kids to move.
As they left, Mikoto waved at the children, who waved back, while her mind filled with worry for her eldest. She knew what kind of clan she was part of, which didn't ease her worry about what had happened to her son and how he was going to deal with it.
...
A few minutes later, at the park;
"Go on, kids, have fun. Itachi and I will be sitting over there watching you." Naruto said with a small smile, gesturing to a park bench near the playground.
The three kids nodded before rushing to the playground and the playsets.
Naruto and Itachi watched them silently as they sat on the park bench.
"So, what happened, Itachi?" Naruto asked without beating around the bush as he knew Itachi's personality.
"My Team. Izumo-san was killed on a mission outside the village. Inari-san withdrew from being a shinobi right after that mission," Itachi said with an even tone while looking at the ground with a hand near his eyes.
"I see," Naruto said with a heavy sigh.
'Looks like he got them,' Naruto thought to himself, while hearing a scoff from deep in his mindscape
"Were you all close?" Naruto asked
"Not that much, but yeah," Itachi replied
"You say that, but you still feel sadness for what happened," Naruto asked, to which Itachi nodded.
"It's natural to feel that, Itachi. You have shared time, training, meals, and even dreams with them. Feeling sadness and grief from losing them is natural." Naruto said softly
"Did you ever lose teammates, Naruto-san?" Itachi asked, looking at Naruto.
"I did lose comrades," Naruto said with a sigh.
"I wasn't a part of the regular genin teams, but I did lose people I worked with. And those weren't the only people whom I lost." Naruto said, gazing up at the partially cloudy sky.
"What do you think is the meaning of life, Naruto-san? Does it hold meaning, or is it meaningless?" Itachi asked, surprising Naruto with the question.
"That is one deep question, Itachi," Naruto replied
"I have been thinking about it for a long time. Ever since Tou-san took me to the battlefield at the end of the third Shinobi war, I have been thinking about it. Shinobi seemed to be getting killed left and right for seemingly nothing," Itachi said. Naruto sighed when he heard that.
What was Fugaku thinking? Taking a 3-4-year-old to the battlefield of a global conflict and expecting everything to be fine. Right now, Naruto is deeply questioning the Uchiha clan head's parenting choices.
"To answer your question, Itachi. The meaning of life can't be described from a single point of view." Naruto started, with Itachi listening carefully.
"Everyone sees life differently; they actively try to give their life meaning. Looking back at your experience on the battlefield, a Konoha shinobi would have their life revolve around the village, protecting it and their family and friends in it. The same goes for the other Shinobi from the other villages." Naruto said
"That is not all. Some people would make it their life mission to get as strong as possible, while others would want to be as rich as possible. Some people live for their clans and their honor; others only live for themselves. Some people strive for a comfortable life, while others live for battle and war. Some people would strive for a glorious death on the battlefield; others would do whatever it takes to stay away from any danger." Naruto continued
"And life doesn't go as expected for everyone. People die, get sick, or something happens to them that stops or pauses their way of trying to live their life. Some people who are still alive after that try to work through their difficulties, while others give up. You would hear from people that success tastes sweeter after struggle."
"The point is, Itachi, I can't tell you what the meaning of life is or how to live it. Not anyone or I should tell you how to live and how to give your life meaning. How to live your life is your own choice to make. You can ask for guidance from those whom you look up to, but in the end, it's your choice to make." Naruto finished
The two of them sat in silence as Itachi processed what he heard.
"What about you, Naruto-san? How do you see life?" Itachi asked.
"To me, life revolves around my family. They are the most important and precious in my life. I live and train to make myself better and more powerful so that, in the end, I will have what it takes to keep them safe if something comes up." Naruto said with a small smile on his face
"What about the village? Most would say that the village is what matters most." Itachi asked, to which Naruto let out a small sigh.
"Itachi, to me, the village is important, but only second to my family and the people I have close to my heart. I am ready to put my life on the line to protect them and the village by default, since they are a part of it. But if you separate the two, I don't see myself ready to bleed for people I don't know." Naruto said with a blank voice. He still hasn't forgotten the first few days he spent in this village.
"That is my point of view of life and the village. Others would tell you something similar or different, depending on how they see things. You can hear them out if you want, but in the end, you should make your own conclusion." Naruto said as he spotted other kids joining Mito and the others to play.
"I see," Itachi said softly.
"Letting the deep talk aside, how are you doing? Is your training going fine?" Naruto asked after a few moments of silence.
"My training is going well. I have been training with Shisui-san for some time." Itachi said
"That is good. How is Shisui?" Naruto asked as he hadn't seen him in quite a while.
"He is doing well but is busy with missions. He spends his time either training together with me or trying to spend time with Miyako-san." Itachi said
"Miyako? Who is that?" Naruto asked, hearing the name for the first time.
"She is Shisui-san's older sister," Itachi said simply while Naruto's eyes widened slightly.
To be continued.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
**A/N: I will be adding an OC. I hope you all like the addition.**
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