After organizing these memories, Naruto stretched his limbs, then moved toward the direction of the bridge.
A few minutes later, he landed on a reef at the entrance of the bridge and the full view of the bridge was revealed before his eyes.
At this moment, the bridge deck had been paved to the end, with only the installation of the last railing and the finishing touches on the bridgehead seams remaining.
Several workers were at the bridgehead doing the final welding work, the sound of hammers striking nails rhythmic.
Bang!
Naruto's Shadow Clone was crouching beside a lamppost at the bridgehead keeping watch. Noticing its original body appear, it turned its face to nod at the original, then dissipated into white smoke.
In an instant, all the memories of guarding the bridge over the past few days flooded into Naruto's mind.
Over the past two days, Tazuna had led the workers to pave the bridge deck, and progress had been smooth.
On the third day, Sasuke, having rested for a few days and recovered quite a bit, came to the bridge to see him with Sakura's support.
Upon learning that Naruto's clone was guarding the bridge, Sasuke stood there for a moment. Sakura wanted to go forward to talk to Naruto but was called back by Sasuke.
Afterward, the two of them left and never came back.
Seeing this, Naruto felt no emotional fluctuation.
He withdrew his attention back to the bridge before him and looked up at the sky.
The setting sun had dropped just a little above the distant sea level.
Naruto estimated that in another day or two, this bridge would be completely finished. By then, their protection mission in the Land of Waves would officially end.
Thinking of this, he did not choose to return to Tazuna's house but instead found a clean spot at the bridgehead to sit down, quietly waiting for the sky to turn completely dark.
...
When Tazuna hammered down the last temporary rivet and announced that work was done for the day, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.
Seeing Naruto standing by the lamppost at the bridgehead, he paused for a beat and then burst into laughter.
"Naruto, you're still here. Let's go home and eat."
Naruto stood up, stretched his somewhat stiff shoulders, and followed Tazuna and the workers back.
When he pushed the door open to enter, only Kakashi was in the living room.
Kakashi was sitting cross-legged in the corner, back against the wall, holding a small book in his hands.
At this moment, he was engrossed in his reading. He was completely immersed in some indescribable plot in the book, not even noticing the sound of Naruto opening the door and entering.
After Naruto changed out of his sandals, he walked up to Kakashi, extended two fingers, and pointed at the book in Kakashi's hands.
"Kakashi-sensei, you're currently in a recovery period, read less dirty books."
Kakashi froze, his finger pausing in mid-air as he turned the page.
He looked down at the 'Icha Icha Paradise' in his hands, then looked up at the expressionless Naruto pointing at him. A flush of red appeared on his cheeks, and then he closed the book with lightning speed and tucked it away.
After doing all this, Kakashi coughed and attempted to change the subject, "Naruto."
He tilted his head, carefully examining the blonde youth in front of him. "I feel like you've changed quite a bit during this period."
This wasn't the first time Kakashi had this feeling.
When the Land of Waves mission started, Naruto was still that boisterous but extremely unreliable troublemaker.
But ever since the battle with Haku ended, it seemed like something was missing from him, and something else had been added.
What was missing was that noisiness. In the past, Naruto was talking every waking moment, either shouting "I'm going to be the Hokage," arguing with Sasuke, or circling around Sakura.
But now he was much quieter, and his speech was much more concise.
What was added was a kind of composure he had never seen in Naruto before. This composure was a kind of calmness only found in a Jonin.
Naruto was slightly stunned, then smiled. "Kakashi-sensei, perhaps this is growth. Having experienced so many life-or-death situations, it's only normal to have some changes."
Kakashi was silent for a moment, then nodded, a flash of understanding crossing his eyes.
That was how it was for a ninja. After killing for the first time, after seeing a comrade fall before one's eyes for the first time, after crawling back from the gates of hell for the first time, one's personality would undergo irreversible changes.
Naruto had clashed with Zabuza, been shot into a hedgehog by Haku, seen Sasuke fall before his eyes, and finally experienced the deaths of Zabuza and Haku.
With so many things hitting a twelve-year-old boy all at once, it would be strange if he didn't change.
Moreover, in all fairness, Kakashi felt that this change was a good thing for Naruto.
The Naruto of the past, who was too loud and boisterous, would always be the first to charge in when encountering danger, requiring him to spend a lot of energy to clean up the mess.
This quiet and composed Naruto now, although it made him feel a bit unaccustomed, gave a feeling of being more reliable.
"Experience makes one grow."
Kakashi patted Naruto on the shoulder, his voice carrying a bit of serious encouragement. "Keep it up, Naruto."
"Okay, Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto met Kakashi's gaze and nodded earnestly. "I will work hard to become the Hokage."
This was not a lie but it was now worlds apart from the impulsive shouting of a child.
Kakashi nodded with satisfaction.
Just as he was about to say something encouraging, the wooden door was pushed open once again. He saw Sasuke and Sakura walk in, one after the other.
***
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