Tranquility

"You recognized me, even though I look like this?" Naruto's voice came from behind the mask.

"Hehe... you're joking. How could I not recognize you?"

Kisame Hoshigaki's laughter was deep and resonant, but it wasn't frightening at all.

"However, as the leader of the organization, why are you dressed like this?"

Organization leader?!

Little Sasuke stood to the side, looking up at Naruto's back. This organization... was it Naruto's doing? This underground base, these Uchiha clan members coming and going, this place he couldn't understand at all—was it all built by Naruto?

"This one..."

Naruto raised his hand and pointed to the disguised Little Sasuke beside him. "I'm taking this kid to meet some people, so we can't attract too much attention. You know, if people find out I'm just wandering around here..."

"I see."

Kisame nodded, his gaze lingering on Little Sasuke for a moment before returning to his own.

"Given your personality, Master Menma, you'll probably be surrounded by a huge crowd. I hope I haven't caused you any trouble."

"Kisame, there's no need to say that."

Naruto's voice suddenly became more serious, "You and I are comrades."

Naruto looked at Kisame, at that face that once held danger and indifference, now softened considerably. He remained silent for a moment, then asked...

"By the way, Kisame, you've been a member of the organization for quite a few years now. How's the wish I promised you coming true?"

Kisame did not answer immediately.

His expression changed, becoming a very gentle one. His eyes narrowed, those eyes that always gave off a fierce impression now curving into two crescent-shaped arcs, and the lines at the corners of his eyes smoothed out.

It looks like a shark that has sunbathed enough, lazily lying on the beach, not having to think about anything or worry about anything.

"... Every time I think about this, I don't know what to say."

"... I don't know how to express my gratitude to you."

After he said that, a smile appeared on his face.

That wasn't his usual chilling smile; instead, it was a warm, genuine smile with his eyes narrowed to slits and the corners of his mouth turned up.

That smile, placed on his face, should have looked quite out of place, but at that moment it appeared perfectly natural, as if that was how his face was supposed to be, and he had just never had the chance to show that expression before.

Kisame's life these past few years has been something he never dared to imagine before.

He finally attained an unprecedented tranquility—a tranquility not found in the mountains, not one of isolation and oblivion, but a tranquility of inner peace, of knowing what he would do tomorrow and why he lived.

He had expectations for life, stemming from his ambition to change the world, and also from simple desires—if the Tenten, he could go somewhere with his companions; in a few days, he had a mission to deliver a batch of grain to a certain village; and after this mission, he could have a drink with his senior Zabuza.

No deception, no falsehood, no need to turn the sword against one's comrades. This was what he longed for most in his life, and what he thought he would never obtain.

He lived in the light. What he did every day was no longer assassination, infiltration, or cleaning up the messes of those who used others as pawns.

His only killing was of the real scum—those bullies who oppressed the people, those missing-nin who massacred villages, and those who were the root of suffering in this world.

More often than not, he didn't kill. He took the strange seeds Orochimaru had developed—seeds of various vegetables, wheat, and crops that could grow in barren land—and went to famine-stricken areas to teach the locals how to farm, how to fertilize, and how to make a piece of land that was about to be abandoned grow food again.

He went to eliminate the missing-nin and bandits who harassed the villages, used the power of Ninja to help villages that couldn't even get a clean drink of water to dig wells, and went to small countries that large countries wouldn't even give a second glance to help them build roads, houses, and schools.

His fame spread, and sometimes when he visited small countries, the local villagers were even more enthusiastic about seeing him than they were about seeing Ninja from their own Ninja villages.

The children would fawn over him, offering him their best food. The elderly would hold his hands, their eyes brimming with tears, saying thank you and that they wouldn't have survived the winter without you.

Kisame sometimes wonders, can I really be like this?

He used to have his hands stained with blood, he used to be someone who didn't even feel he deserved to live, but now he lives in the light, is needed by so many people, is thanked by so many people, and is regarded as a good person by so many people.

But... if someone tries to take this kind of life away from him— Kisame would never agree to it, even if it cost him his life.

This was the first time in his life he felt that "it's good to be alive." He would fight anyone who tried to take it away.

"Knowing what I should fight for, knowing what my purpose is, knowing my stance—my heart is filled with an incomparably reassuring peace." Kisame Hoshigaki's voice was slow, each word spoken slowly.

"All of this is thanks to you."

"That's good."

Naruto nodded, looking at Kisame, wanting to say something more—like, "This is the path you've walked yourself," or "There's a long road ahead"—but before he could speak, he noticed a gaze.

That was Little Sasuke's gaze.

The disguised Little Sasuke stood beside Naruto, having remained silent since the beginning, standing there quietly.

His eyes betrayed him; he kept glancing into the depths of the corridor, his fingers nervously clenching inside his sleeves. He looked like a string stretched too tight, ready to snap at any moment.

Kisame noticed the gaze. His eyes swept over Little Sasuke, lingered for less than a second, and then looked away.

He didn't ask any more questions, nor was he curious about who the child was, or why Naruto had brought a disguised child to the base.

"Menma, Lord Ma, I won't bother you any longer."

Kisame took half a step back, clearing the way in the corridor.

"If you're looking for Shisui, he's out buying some necessities right now. I've received a mission—"

"In the Land of Hot Water, according to eyewitness reports, a Ninja from Konoha is inquiring about our organization. We don't know his background, and it's even rumored that this Konoha Ninja is a member of a clan with Kekkei Genkai."

"I'll leave now to see what those so-called Konoha Ninja are really up to."