"I'll go check on Inari."
Tsunami gave a helpless smile and made an apologetic gesture to everyone, then got up and went into Inari's room.
"Inari..."
As the door closed, the voices grew quieter, but the ninja could still hear Inari clearly.
"Tch, what a weakling."
Sasuke paused while wiping the window, then made that remark.
"Hey, Sasuke, he's been through a lot. Don't be like that."
Naruto scratched his head. Inari's current state hadn't come about by chance; it was inevitable under the circumstances in the Land of Waves.
Kaiza's death had merely accelerated the process.
"Naruto-kun..."
Hinata looked at Naruto with some concern. After all, his circumstances were much like Inari's, and Inari at least still had a mother.
"I'm fine, Hinata-chan."
Naruto took Hinata's hand and gave it a little shake, then let go and turned toward Inari's room.
"Uh, um..."
Tazuna didn't know what to do. He wanted to stop him but lacked the ability.
"Don't worry. Naruto knows where to draw the line with these things."
Kakashi gently held Tazuna back as he spoke.
Meanwhile, Tsunami's conversation with Inari wasn't going very well, and her mention of Kaiza had clearly touched a sore spot.
"Everyone who stands up to Gato dies! Everyone's the same! They'll all die!"
Inari pushed the door open and shouted, trying to rush outside to spend some time alone.
Thonk~
He ran straight into Naruto, his head making a thonk as his body bounced back.
"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts!"
Inari clutched his head, then looked up into Naruto's smiling face.
Naruto: (*^▽^*) Hehe~
"Hey, you... why are you blocking my way?!"
Inari's tone was noticeably weaker when facing Naruto. After all, Naruto pulling out a roof beam with his bare hands earlier had frightened him.
"You're Inari, right? Let's talk