Book One:
Deep in the Land of Fire, in the Hidden Leaf Village, the hero Naruto Uzumaki lives. But, what if he had a sister?
Enter Natsumi Uzumaki.
She's your typical twin sister- empathetic, responsible, and willing to do whatever it takes to prot...
Cranes hoisted large beams from a barge below the bridge as the builders worked to set the beams into place. Sakura stretched and yawned, as she sat off to the side, out of the way of the construction,
"It looks like you've got some time to kill there all by yourself." Tazuna glanced at her as he walked by, carrying a steel beam over his shoulder singlehandedly. "What happened to the blond boy and that stuck-up boy?"
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Sakura rested her hands in her lap and looked at him. "They're in the middle of tree-climbing training."
"You don't have to do it?"
"I'm exceptional, so Kakashi-sensei told me to guard you." Sakura smiled and shrugged.
Tazuna stopped walking momentarily to looked at her with a brow raised. "Really?"
Sakura blinked, then screwed up her face to grit her teeth. "What?!"
Tazuna set the beam down on a pile of others and one of the other men approached him.
"You got a minute, Tazuna?"
Tazuna turned to him and wipe sweat from his face with a towel. "Huh? What's up, Giichi?"
"Uh... actually..." He looked to the side. "I gave it a lot of thought. Building this bridge..." He looked back to Tazuna. "Will you let me quit?"
"What?! Why so suddenly?!" Tazuna's eyes widened slightly. "Not you too?!"
"Tazuna, I've known you since the old days. I'd like to cooperate, but if we push it too far, Gato will set his sights on us, too."
Tazuna's expression darkened at the name and his brows furrowed.
"Also..." The man continued. "If you get killed, everything is lost!" He sighed. "Why don't you just stop building the bridge?"
Tazuna remained quiet for some time as he stared at him before he finally answered. "Not a chance. This is our bridge. This is the bridge that everyone in town has built, believing that it would generation distribution and transportation for this poor land that has few resources."
"But if it goes so far as to take our lives..." Giichi averted his eyes again."
"It's already afternoon..." Tazuna stepped toward his friend, then walked past. "Let's call it a day."
"Tazuna!" Giichi held out a hand and Tazuna stopped to look at him from over his shoulder.
"Giichi... you don't have to come back tomorrow." Tazuna continued to walk away and Sakura watched quietly as he did.
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"Damn it!" Naruto panted heavily and stared up at the markings on his tree, then scowled and flailed his arms and legs. "What the heck is up with this?!"
