The Strength of the Weak {A Naruto Fanfiction}

The Strength of the Weak - Chapter 17

Satomi P.O.V.

After the battle at the bridge, we had all gone back to Tazuna's. Injured, but alive. Sasuke's revival was nothing short of a miracle, and I would always be thankful to Haku for doing what he did. As Zabuza said... he was a kind soul.

After a few more weeks, the bridge was finally completed, and all of Team 7 was healed up once again.

"I'm not crying, you are!" Naruto claims, holding back tears as he and Inari said their goodbyes. The two of them had grown closer over the span of the mission, and it was quite adorable. I glance over at Sasuke with a small smile. He was watching the scene with a mocking smirk, no doubt planning on giving Naruto hell for crying.

"We shall name this... the Great Naruto Bridge!" Tazuna exclaims as we approach the end, throwing his arms out wide for dramatic effect. I tilt my head with a small smile at the name. It was perfect.

"Well... I guess it's time to depart. Thank you for your hospitality, Tazuna-san. I wish you and your country the best of luck in the future," Kakashi-sensei says, shaking Tazuna's hand as we prepare to head home.

"You all as well. Thank you for saving our country," Tazuna thanks gratefully. Naruto puffs out his chest with a proud smile, pointing to himself.

"All in a days work! Time to go save the next country, dattebayo!" Naruto responds, walking away with his head held high, despite the tears streaming down his face. We all sigh at his antics, before finishing our goodbyes and heading out of the Wave Country, back to Konoha.

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"It seems like teamwork has been suffering lately..." Kakashi-sensei says, sweatdropping. It had been a few weeks since we returned from the Land of Waves, and we had to continue our D-Rank missions, much to Naruto's dismay.

Naruto and Sasuke were glaring at each other, while Sakura was off to the side staring dreamily at Sasuke. I sigh softly, but remain uninvolved.

"It's all Sasuke-teme's fault, dattebayo! He's always trying to steal the spotlight and I'm sick of it!" Naruto complains childishly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, that's you, dobe," Sasuke scoffs, dismissing Naruto's accusation easily. Naruto growls at Sasuke, each of them glaring daggers at each other. Beside me, Kakashi-sensei glances in the air, where a bird was circling around his head.

"We're done for the day, everyone. You have the rest of the day off," Kakashi-sensei announces, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke begins to walk off without a word, causing me to roll my eyes and follow after him, but not before bowing to Naruto and Sakura.

Jogging up next to Sasuke, I glance up at him curiously. He was acting more hostile towards Naruto lately, and whether that would grow into a good or bad thing I wasn't sure.

"Ne, Sasuke... why are you so mean to Naruto-kun?" I ask him. He scoffs and glares at the ground.

"That dobe is so annoying... he thinks that he's better than me, and it's almost pitiful. Not to mention Sakura, she's so useless it's laughable," Sasuke vents. I frown at his answer, falling into step with him.

"I understand why you think that... but you should give them a chance. Naruto has potential, Sakura too. Remember in the Land of Waves when she beat all of us in chakra control?" I muse, gauging his reaction. His eyebrow twitches as the memory of him losing to Sakura surfaces in his mind.

"They are keeping me back from getting strong enough to kill Itachi," Sasuke spits out hatefully. I sigh and shake my head, knowing that arguing with him would be useless right now. He truly did carry such strong Uchiha traits... he's so stubborn and prideful it's hard to believe we are related.