Chapter 357: Chapter 358: Growth
Chapter 358: Growth
Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki were immersed in the warm memories of the "Fated Encounter of Cat and Dog" from twenty years ago. Their fingers were intertwined, and their gazes softened as they looked at the small flowerbed before them, which bore the marks of their youth. The surrounding clamor seemed to have faded away.
However, this peaceful nostalgia did not last long.
"Uncle Kiba, Aunt Tamaki, good evening!"
Accompanied by a crisp and loud greeting, a vibrant figure suddenly rushed out from a side road, nearly crashing headfirst into the flowerbed!
It was a boy who looked to be about ten years old, with dazzling blonde hair and azure eyes. He was holding a box of Tempura, a brilliant smile on his face as if a prank had succeeded—this was Uzumaki Shinachiku.
Almost the moment he rushed out, another boy, slightly thin but extremely agile, with short black hair and the Sharingan, followed closely behind from the side road, shouting: "Shinachiku! Stop right there! Give me back the Tempura!"
The two boys were like two whirlwinds, instantly shattering the peace by the flowerbed.
Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki were startled by this sudden "attack," and nearly drew their Kunai to strike back.
But after seeing who it was, their faces immediately showed expressions of helplessness and amusement.
Inuzuka Kiba instinctively pulled Tamaki closer to himself, then shouted with a full voice at the two boys who were charging ahead recklessly:
"Hey, Taichi, Shinachiku! You two slow down! This is a flowerbed, not a training ground!"
Tamaki also hurriedly reminded them: "Be careful not to bump into anyone, and don’t trample the flowers!"
Shinachiku slammed on the brakes, stopping perilously at the edge of the flowerbed. He turned back and grinned at Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki, making a face: "We know, Uncle Kiba! We’re being very careful."
Despite his words, his feet were already poised to move, ready to keep making his getaway.
Taichi was a bit more steady; he also stopped and gave Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki a polite but hurried nod: "Uncle Kiba, Aunt Tamaki, sorry for the interruption." But his gaze was already locked onto the box of Tempura in Shinachiku’s hand, which had clearly been picked at.
Looking at these two boys with excess energy, Inuzuka Kiba deliberately put on a stern face, using the authority of an elder to "warn" them:
"If you two dare to flip over someone’s Goldfish stall for a Dango again like last time, watch out for your dads’ punishment. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when the time comes."
Hearing this, Shinachiku laughed nonchalantly. While fiddling with the Takoyaki box in his hand, he said with full confidence:
"Haha, don’t worry, Uncle Kiba! My dad wouldn’t..."
Before he could finish, Taichi’s red eyes suddenly caught sight of a pink-haired figure walking quickly through the crowd in the distance, and his expression changed instantly!
"Idiot Shinachiku, stop talking!"
Taichi hurriedly interrupted Shinachiku, his voice carrying a rare hint of tension.
"It’s Mom Sakura! She... she seems to have seen us and is chasing after us!"
"Huh?"
The smile on Shinachiku’s face froze instantly. He whipped his head around and indeed saw his mother walking quickly toward them through the crowd with a "kind" expression.
Shinachiku, who had been fearless just a moment ago, instantly lost his nerve.
"Run!"
Taichi reacted extremely fast. With a low shout, he performed a fluid sliding maneuver, gliding past Shinachiku while simultaneously grabbing Shinachiku’s arm. Then, he suddenly accelerated, sprinting in the opposite direction from where Sakura Haruno was coming.
The movements were clean and efficient, clearly showing the qualities of an excellent Ninja.
At least in terms of reactions and movement.
Pulled by Taichi, Shinachiku snapped out of it and didn’t dare stay a second longer.
"Ah! Goodbye, Uncle and Aunt! Let’s talk next time!"
He waved hastily to Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki, nearly tossing the Tempura in his hand, and then burst forth with startling speed, following Taichi. They vanished around the corner of another alley in an instant, leaving only a gust of wind.
Seeing the two children disappear, Sakura Haruno slowed her pace, no longer in an urgent chase.
She tidied her hair, which had become slightly disheveled from her brisk walk, and the stern expression on her face softened, returning to her usual capable yet gentle look.
She walked up to Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki with a helpless and amused expression.
"Kiba, Tamaki, good evening."
Sakura Haruno greeted them, her tone apologetic. "I’m sorry. Those two brats didn’t bump into you or break anything, did they?"
Seeing this, Inuzuka Kiba laughed heartily and waved his hand.
"It’s fine, it’s fine. Sakura, you’re being too polite. Those two have a sense of propriety; they’re just a bit mischievous. Tamaki and I were just looking at the flowers, and they went ’whoosh’ right past us like a gust of wind."
With the open-minded expression of someone who had been through it all, he continued:
"They’re just kids. At this age, they’re full of energy and love to run around.
The Festival is so lively; let them run, jump, and play.
As long as they don’t actually cause trouble, nothing will happen.
Naruto was way more of a handful back in the day."
After all, these two boys hadn’t treated the other four nations like kickballs.
Inuzuka Kiba’s tone was full of indulgence and understanding for the children, as if he were seeing shadows of himself and his comrades in their youth.
However, hearing Inuzuka Kiba’s "open-minded" remarks, Sakura Haruno let out a deep sigh, her face showing a complex mix of fatigue, realization, and self-deprecation.
"Kiba, you’re right. If it were me when I was a child..."
Sakura Haruno held her face, looking quite troubled as she seemed to recall her youth—a girl who was a bit willful but also full of vitality.
"If I heard an adult say, ’They’re just kids, let them be,’ I would have definitely agreed with both hands, thinking that adults finally understood how to respect a child’s nature. I might have even complained that they weren’t being lenient enough."
She withdrew her gaze and looked at Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki, shaking her head with a bitter smile.
"But... once I actually became a parent, I discovered..."
Sakura Haruno’s voice carried a profound sense of realization.
"I simply can’t empathize with my former self anymore."
"Now, watching Shinachiku and Taichi charge around, the first things that pop into my head are a bunch of worries and thoughts of discipline. I just can’t stop it."
"Sometimes I even think to myself, have I become too naggy, too overprotective?
But I just can’t control it. This might just be an ’occupational hazard’ of being a parent."
Sakura Haruno laughed a bit self-deprecatingly.
Inuzuka Kiba and Tamaki nodded in understanding.
Tamaki said gently, "Yes, once you become a parent, your mindset really does change. You always want to give them the best, and you’re always afraid they’ll get even slightly hurt."
Just as the three of them were feeling sentimental about the topic of a "parent’s heart," a familiar, hearty, and smiling voice suddenly came from the direction of the alley where the two children had just fled:
"Tamaki is right."
The three of them looked toward the sound and saw the adult Uzumaki Naruto carrying a boy in each hand, walking out of the alley with steady steps and a chuckle.
In Uzumaki Naruto’s hands, the two little fellows instantly lost the arrogant air they had during their "escape."
Uzumaki Naruto walked closer and gently set the two boys down, though his hands remained on their shoulders to prevent them from running off again.
Then he looked at Sakura Haruno, picking up where she had left off in a relaxed yet meaningful tone:
"However, Sakura."
"If we could always perfectly ’empathize’ with our childhood selves—if every thought and every impulse were exactly the same as back then—wouldn’t that mean that after all these years, there hasn’t been any ’growth’ at all?"
Uzumaki Naruto paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, including his two sons who were listening intently.
"People change. They mature, take on new responsibilities, and look at the world and themselves from a new perspective.
Once you’re a parent and have someone you need to protect, it’s only natural that your thoughts differ from before. That’s exactly what ’growth’ is."
Then Uzumaki Naruto’s tone shifted, becoming even more broad-minded:
"And, think of it from another angle."
"Even though your past self might have wanted adults to interfere less, she wouldn’t ’blame’ her future self for becoming so protective and caring. Back then, she didn’t know what her future self would become."
Uzumaki Naruto’s gaze fell gently on the sheepish Shinachiku and the quietly listening Taichi, then he looked back at Sakura Haruno and the others:
"So, we shouldn’t ’criticize’ our past selves too much either, or blame ourselves for becoming ’unlike how we used to be.’"
He concluded:
"Why get ’angry’ with yourself? Accept yourself at every stage, understand the reasons behind the changes, and cherish the responsibilities and happiness you have now.
The Sakura Haruno of the past and the Sakura Haruno of the present are both you, and both are wonderful."
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