Naruto's Change

At this point, the bridge deck had been laid all the way to the end. Only the final guardrail installation and the finishing work on the joint at the bridgehead remained.

Several workers were carrying out the final welding work at the bridgehead, the crisp, rhythmic sound of hammers striking rivets echoing through the air.

Bang!

Naruto's shadow clone was crouching beside a lamppost at the bridgehead, standing guard. Noticing that the original had appeared, it turned and nodded at him before dissolving into a puff of white smoke.

In an instant, all the memories from the past few days of standing watch over the bridge flowed into Naruto's mind at once.

Two days ago, Tazuna had led the workers in laying the bridge deck, and everything had progressed smoothly.

On the third day, Sasuke had recovered quite a bit after resting for several days. Supported by Sakura, he came to see Naruto by the bridge. Upon learning that Naruto's clone was guarding the bridge, Sasuke stood there silently for a while.

When Sakura wanted to go up and speak to Naruto, Sasuke stopped her.

After that, the two of them went back and never came again.

Seeing this, Naruto felt no emotional stir.

He turned his attention back to the bridge before him and looked up at the sky.

The setting sun hung just above the distant horizon, its golden afterglow spilling across the sea and over the stone monument at the bridgehead bearing the words "Land of Waves Bridge."

Naruto estimated that the bridge would be completely finished in another day or two.

At that point, their protection mission in the Land of Waves would officially be over.

With that in mind, Naruto did not return to Tazuna's house. Instead, he found a clean spot at the bridgehead, sat down, and quietly waited for night to fall completely.

Darkness gradually swallowed the sea.

By the time Tazuna hammered in the last temporary rivet and announced the end of the workday, it was already past eight in the evening.

The old bridge builder took off his hard hat, his head drenched in sweat. When he saw Naruto standing beside the lamppost at the bridgehead, he paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Naruto, you're still here!"

"Come on, let's go home and eat!"

Naruto got to his feet, rolling his shoulders that had grown a little stiff from sitting, then followed Tazuna and the workers back.

When he pushed open the door, Kakashi was the only one in the living room.

He was sitting cross-legged in a corner with his back against the wall, his forehead protector slanted over his left eye. In his hands was a small hardcover book with an orange-red cover—Make-Out Paradise.

Kakashi was utterly engrossed in it. His eyes had curved into crescents as he let out a series of quiet snickers, completely absorbed in some indescribable scene from the book. He did not even notice Naruto coming in.

Naruto changed out of his ninja sandals, walked over to Kakashi, bent down, and pointed at the book in Kakashi's hands with two fingers.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're still recovering. You should read fewer dirty books."

Kakashi froze completely, his fingers suspended halfway through turning the page. Though his Sharingan was hidden, his visible eye widened into a perfect circle.

He looked down at Make-Out Paradise in his hands, then back up at the expressionless Naruto pointing at him. A faint flush appeared on his cheeks, and he snapped the book shut at lightning speed before quietly stuffing it into the deepest part of his ninja tool pouch.

After doing all that, Kakashi coughed, trying to change the subject.

"Hey, Naruto."

Kakashi tilted his head and studied the blond boy before him carefully. "It feels like you've changed a lot lately."

This was not the first time Kakashi had felt that way.

At the beginning of the Land of Waves mission, Naruto had still been that carefree, energetic, but wildly unreliable dead last.

But ever since the battle with Haku ended, it seemed that something had disappeared from the boy, while something else had been added.

What had disappeared was the noise. Naruto used to be talking all the time—either shouting, "I'm going to become Hokage," bickering with Sasuke, or circling around Sakura.

But now, he had become much quieter, and his words had become more concise.

What had appeared was a steadiness Kakashi had never seen in Naruto before.

It was not gloominess, nor the dejection that came after a severe blow. It was a composure more akin to that of a jonin.

Naruto paused slightly, then smiled.

It was unlike his usual exaggerated, wide grin. The curve of it was small and natural.

"Kakashi-sensei, maybe this is what growing up means."

"After going through so many life-and-death situations, it'd be strange if I didn't change at all."

Kakashi fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

A trace of understanding flashed through his eyes. Ninjas were like that. After killing someone for the first time, seeing a companion fall before them for the first time, or crawling back from death's door for the first time, their personalities underwent irreversible changes.

Naruto had fought Zabuza, been turned into a pincushion by Haku's needles, watched Sasuke collapse before his eyes, and finally witnessed the deaths of Zabuza and Haku.

With so many things crashing down on a twelve-year-old boy all at once, it would have been strange if he had not changed.

And honestly, Kakashi felt that this change was a good thing for Naruto.

The old Naruto had been too loud, too reckless, too unreliable. Whenever danger appeared, he was always the first to rush in blindly, forcing Kakashi to spend a great deal of effort covering for him.

This quiet, steady Naruto was a little unfamiliar to him, but he truly seemed more dependable.

"Experience helps people grow."

Kakashi reached out and patted Naruto on the shoulder, his voice carrying a note of sincere encouragement. "Keep it up, Naruto."

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto met Kakashi's gaze and nodded seriously. "I'll work hard to become Hokage."

That was not a lie.

His goal of becoming Hokage had always been real, but it was now worlds apart from the impulsive shout of a child.

Kakashi nodded in satisfaction.

Just as he was about to say something encouraging, the wooden door opened again.

Sasuke and Sakura walked in one after the other.

Sasuke entered first. Most of his injuries had healed, though his face still carried a trace of pallor from his recent illness.

Sakura followed behind him, sweat clinging to her hair as well. She had gone to train with Sasuke, but he had barely spoken to her the entire time. She had only thrown some shuriken on her own and practiced basic taijutsu beside him, better than nothing.

The moment she entered, she saw Naruto standing beside Kakashi. In a fraction of a second, her expression went through a spectacular transformation.

First surprise, then awkwardness, before finally settling into cold indifference as she turned her head away.

Both of them had heard what Naruto had just said: "I'll work hard to become Hokage."

Sakura thought, Hmph, Naruto is still Naruto. What's the point of saying he wants to become Hokage?

He's nowhere near as good as Sasuke.

And I'm still not over his "last time" attitude from a few days ago. I absolutely won't take the initiative to talk to him now. I definitely won't pay attention to him unless he apologizes to me first.

What Sasuke thought was: The dead last he had known before had been one of the worst students in the class ever since ninja academy. He could barely use the Three-Body Technique, and he had even failed the graduation exam because his Clone Technique was inadequate.

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