Sasuke, with a bitter expression on his face, wiped his mouth and tossed the canteen away. Luckily, Naruto reacted swiftly and caught it mid-air.
"Hey, don't waste it." Naruto said before carefully tucking the flask back into his chest pocket.
Sasuke's face darkened, and he turned to leave in frustration. But before he could, Naruto reached out, slung an arm over his shoulder, and pulled him down to sit side by side on the tree branch.
Sasuke tried to resist but was shocked to find that Naruto's arm felt as immovable as forged steel… there was no breaking free. Before he even realized it, he had been forced back down.
'This kind of strength…!'
"So… what's your reason for wanting to get stronger?"
Naruto's sudden question interrupted Sasuke's struggle and quickly redirected his thoughts.
He stayed silent for a moment, then glanced at Naruto's distant, weathered expression. The words 'None of your business' that had been on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.
"...I already told you before. I'm going to kill that man."
He was going to kill Uchiha Itachi.
The man who had slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan, his own older brother.
"Revenge… huh?"
'That's different from me.'
Unlike Konohamaru, whose desire to grow stronger was closer to Naruto's, as he wanted to earn everyone's recognition, Sasuke's reason was much simpler and more direct.
At the same time, it was also one of the most common motivations Naruto had encountered.
On that vast, turbulent sea, while there were grand clashes between powerful figures that stirred storms and upheavals, beneath the waves also lay the tragedies and hatred of the weak.
Small nations purged by the World Government, civilians slaughtered by pirates, comrades killed by the Marines-
Fighting and killing, the blood-red color of the sea seems to never dissipate.
"After you get your revenge… have you thought about what you'll do then?"
Naruto suddenly turned his head and posed the question to Sasuke.
Sasuke was a little stunned by his sudden question.
'After revenge?'
Sasuke had never thought about that.
It was as if the only thing left in his life was his single-minded pursuit of vengeance against that man. He didn't even truly believe he could succeed, so he had never considered what would come after.
Seeing Sasuke's silence, Naruto chuckled lightly, took another swig of sake, and then handed the flask back to him.
"My training will be very brutal. When it gets too much, take a drink. If you're drunk, you won't feel the pain."
Hearing this, Sasuke jerked his head up, staring at Naruto in shock before looking down at the sake flask in his hand.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll be training you."
"...Fine."
…
Without Gato's interference, the bridge's construction progressed far faster than expected. In just two or three days, nearly 70-80% of the work had been completed.
Sakura's wounds had also scabbed over, so she can now move freely again.
Every day, she would go to the forest near the village and watch Naruto and Sasuke's training from a distance.
Or, more accurately, she watched Naruto 'train' Sasuke.
Though Sakura didn't have the discerning eye of a true powerhouse, after everything they'd been through together, she could more or less 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 massive boulder on his back while he lounged leisurely on top of it, sipping sake, she almost couldn't help but rush over.
Fortunately, reason won out in the end.
She decided to ask Kakashi for help first, as she was sure that Sasuke would definitely get injured from such intense training.
But what made Sakura speechless was that after Kakashi came over and took a look, he simply concluded:
"Leave them be."
Then he added something that stabbed right at Sakura's insecurities.
"Though, Sakura, if things keep going like this, you might soon find yourself left far behind by Naruto and Sasuke."
And that was putting it nicely.
In fact, based on Kakashi's observations, leaving Naruto aside, Sasuke's growth over these past few days had already far surpassed Sakura's.
It was originally estimated that it would take several days for Sasuke to learn the water walking, but after Naruto's 'teaching', he mastered it in a single day under.
On top of that, the insane physical training Naruto was putting Sasuke through reminded Kakashi of his 'rival', Konoha's Blue Beast, Might Guy.
'This level of training intensity… hopefully, Sasuke would still be able to stand by the time we returned to the village.'
Opposite him, Sakura, who had been completely rattled by Kakashi's remark, took it to heart and decided to start training anew despite her still-unhealed hand injury.
Perhaps due to her superior precision in Chakra Control compared to Sasuke, Sakura also completed the water walking training in just one day.
Then, following Kakashi's advice, she chose to further refine her Chakra Control.
'If I can't become as strong as them, maybe I can help everyone in a different way.'
Looking at the still-healing puncture wound on the back of her hand, Sakura silently steeled her resolve.
The Genin of Team 7 seized every moment during these mission days to grow stronger.
Including Naruto.
After this period of 'rehabilitation', his physical strength had gone from being 'less than ten percent of his original power' to nearly 20%.
To put it simply, his strength has almost doubled, and his Armament Haki had begun to thicken noticeably.
Similarly, his height, which had already been roughly on par with Sasuke's, had stretched even further.
Now, Naruto could confidently say he was the tallest member of Team 7.
Due to differences in individual potential, Sasuke's training results are much better than Konohamaru's.
So much so that on the last day of training, Naruto even felt it was about time to start teaching Sasuke about Haki.
'The earlier, the better.'
After all, there are also children in the New World who have awakened their Haki at this age. Big Mom's crew had several like that.
Naruto, who has unknowingly developed a bit of the 'bird parent' mentality, had already started planning how to train Sasuke and Konohamaru.
It had nothing to do with allegiances or his future plans… it was simply that he enjoyed 'raising' others, just like Roger and Gaban had back in the day.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Great Bridge in the Land of Waves was nearing completion, which also meant Team 7's first 'C-Rank' mission was coming to an end.
When the last bolt was tightened, Tazuna wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to look back in disbelief.
There it was… a smooth, wide bridge, the path that would connect the Land of Waves to its future.
He never imagined things would progress so smoothly.
"The Great Bridge of the Land of Waves is complete!"
"Oooohhhh!!!"
All the workers who had contributed to the bridge's construction, along with the nearby villagers, erupted into cheers of joy. The completion of this bridge meant the Land of Waves would break free from the shackles of poverty, escape the shadow of Gato, and return to prosperity.
That night, everyone gathered in the center of the village.
They danced and sang around a massive bonfire, and many even brought out the alcohol they usually couldn't bear to drink, downing it with gusto.
Sitting nearby, Naruto was also laughing as he danced and drank with the villagers.
The cheap, murky liquor he'd normally scoff at now tasted like fine sake amid the laughter.
'A party!'
'When something happy happens, you celebrate with a party!'
This was also proposed by Naruto.
On the side, Tazuna's grandson, Inari watched the cheering crowd, recalled his father-like figure, who had been killed for opposing Gato, and couldn't help but smile.
Tears streamed down his face like they were free.
Sakura on the side noticed this and gently wiped the boy's face with a handkerchief.
Even Sasuke, who usually maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, broke character in the lively atmosphere and drank a few cups with everyone.
…Though that might've also been due to Naruto plying him with alcohol these past few days.
Inari suddenly dashed over to Naruto and hugged his leg tightly.
"Thank you…"
The boy's muffled voice reached Naruto's ears and he laughed heartily before hoisting Inari onto his shoulders.
"Oi, brat, no matter what happens, never lose your courage, got it?"
His face broke into a grin identical to Roger's, and staring at that smile, Inari found himself grinning back uncontrollably.
"Um!"
The joyous atmosphere continued late into the night, with singing and dancing.
The shadow of Gato that had loomed over the Land of Waves seemed to vanish overnight with the bridge's completion.
Only Kakashi, who was sitting off to the side and while quietly reading the latest chapter of Icha Icha Paradise, knew that all of this was likely connected to Naruto.
…
The next morning, Naruto had no idea how much he'd drunk the night before.
When he finally woke up, he instinctively reached for something to cover his eyes-
But he unexpectedly caught nothing.
"Hey, hey, Naruto, how long are you going to keep sleeping?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice reached Naruto's ears, causing him to open his eyes instantly.
What greeted him was the Red Hair Pirates who had already started packing up their things, and that grinning uncle's face.
'I'm... back again?'