Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto-related merchandise and/or characters.

"What's wrong? Not gonna fight back, loser?!"

Inari has had better days, that much was certain; not that being picked on by bullies was of any consolation compared to worse experiences he had gone through, but this experience in particular was of slight relief - at the very least, he'd get away with a few bruises and no emotional burdens to deal with later on.

He was being picked on by three kids of his age-group, the 'leader' - a black-haired, mean-faced boy - grabbed the unresponsive Inari by the collar of his shirt and swung back a punch that would no doubt leave Inari sore for the remainder of the day; before he could make his move, however, the boy's fist was grabbed from behind, said brat and his entourage now sporting frightened expressions as the newcomer's face showed bone-chilling indifference - or was it annoyance?

"You brats are too damn loud... Get lost."; his pride getting the best of him, the bullies' leader glared at the newcomer and responded with: "Who the heck are you, anyway?! A kid like you can't tell me what to-!"

CRASH!

Without any warning, the leader was delivered a painful headbutt, his nose now bleeding profusely as he and his companions ran away screaming in fear. Inari, while grateful for the newcomer's interference, gave him a heated glare as he clenched his fists and spat out: "I didn't your help, you know! These guys couldn't even scratch me!"

"...You're pretty noisy, yourself, pup. Care for a repeat performance?"; seeing Inari's anger being greatly subdued, the newcomer - or rather, Naruto - began making his way to the nearby fields in order to train with Kakashi and the rest of Team 7, only to be inquired once more: "...How come you helped me, anyway? I thought you hated me or something."; still looking straight ahead, Naruto calmly responded: "Hate you? Not a bad joke - never would've pegged you for a comedian. No, I don't hate you - I just dislike you, the same way I dislike everyone else. As for helping you... I felt like it, pup."

With the blonde making his way to training, Inari was left standing behind, many thoughts and emotions running through his head, his view of Naruto now greatly conflicted.

The training in itself wasn't all that bad, nor was it too difficult: sure, getting the hang of basic chakra manipulation (to the feet) was of some inconvenience to a Jinchuriki, but it was nothing Naruto couldn't handle in the end. Sakura, though devoted to Sasuke, couldn't help but respect Naruto's progress thus far; sure, his attitude could use some much needed changes, but his determination and collected nature made quite the impression on the pink-haired kunoichi, to say nothing of Kakashi and (though he would never admit it) Sasuke, the Uchiha begrudgingly beginning to accept the fact that Naruto was no longer the dead-last he had come to know in the academy; surely, a match with the Uzumaki child would be of great use to him in the near future.

To Kakashi's shock, Naruto actually took time out of his training regimen to tutor Sakura and Sasuke about combat efficiency in terms of stealth and maintaining the element of surprise; while his fellow Genin were grateful (albeit extremely taken aback by Naruto's spontaneous initiative), Kakashi had been made clear to by said blonde that he was merely holding up his end of the deal, and that he had "no use for extra baggage on the battlefield"; Naruto, however, was no fool: merely holding his end of the deal was one factor, yes, but he knew all-too-well just how deadly Zabuza could be while in combat - the last thing the blonde wanted was to explain to the Hokage his survival in contrast to the deaths of his two 'teammates'; no doubt it would be a hassle, something that Naruto couldn't afford himself to have.

Having trained himself - as well as aided Sakura and Sasuke to a great extent - Naruto was left fatigued as he took a quick shower and made his way to his temporary bed in Tazuna's residence; no more than 10 seconds after lying on the bed, the boy had already fallen asleep.

He knew not whose voice or face it was, but he could tell it was a woman - one with long, beautiful red hair; the rest of his surroundings being obscured (or at least very heavily blurred), Naruto allowed himself to focus on the woman's image, said red-haired shedding tears as she spoke to someone. Naruto, though unable to make out about 90% of what was said, felt an inexplicable urge to comfort her, if only for her tears to stop flowing; no matter how hard he tried to reach out to her, however, she was simply beyond his grasp, her voice and face beginning to grow distant as he slowly awoke from his slumber.

Messaging his eyes, Naruto was surprised to find that he had unknowingly shed a few tears from both eyes while he was asleep, said revelation - combined with what little details he remembered from his dream - causing the boy to frown in confusion and discontent.

That dream just now... and that woman... Could it be that-

Naruto's thoughts were cut short as he felt an ominous presence drawing near, the boy leaping out of bed as he quickly prepared his weapons (he had slept with his clothes still on him), signaling Tsunami and Inari to get to safety, preferably in the basement; ignoring the questioning looks on everyone else's faces, Naruto - who was already making his way outside - sported an ominous grin, the following sequence of events now becoming clear to him.

"Zabuza Momochi... Time for round 2."