On the day the Land of Waves' Bridge of Hope was finally completed, the sea breeze carried the villagers' cheers far into the distance. Inari stood at the center of the bridge, tightly clutching the little wooden tag Naruto had given him, the numbness that had once filled his eyes gone without a trace, leaving only clear, bright resolve. Tazuna bowed deeply to Team 7, his rough palms gripping Kakashi's arm again and again, so grateful he could hardly string a full sentence together.
"We should head back to Konoha." Kakashi lifted his head and glanced at the clear sky, a faint, barely noticeable ease in his voice. The battle in the Land of Waves had seemed perilous, but it had truly forged his three students into one. Naruto no longer cared only about showing off. Sasuke had learned to face his companions properly. Sakura, too, had shed some of her spoiled air and gained a little more composure.
Naruto walked with both hands pillowed behind his head, bouncing along and humming some tuneless little song. What he had experienced in the Land of Waves had let him truly feel what it was like to be needed and trusted, and that satisfied him more than any praise could. "Once we're back in the village, I'm definitely eating a full serving of Ichiraku Ramen—an extra-large bowl!"
Sasuke glanced at him without saying a word, but his steps unconsciously slowed as he waited for Sakura behind them to catch up. After the battle inside the ice mirrors, he had come to acknowledge Naruto's reckless stubbornness a little more. Though he was still as sharp-tongued as ever, somewhere deep in his heart, the barrier called "comrades" had quietly cracked open.
Sakura hugged her arms and looked at the bickering pair in front of