All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
At night, Sasuke and Bakugo returned to Tazuna's house, where Inari and Tsunami (Inari's mother) also lived. They hadn't yet managed to reach the top of the tree, but they were close, with less than a third of the way to go.
Tsunami prepared dinner, and when they sat down to eat, Bakugo and Sasuke competed again to see who ate the fastest.
"Old lady, don't you have anything spicy?" Bakugo asked with his mouth full of food.
"Bakugo, don't be rude!" Sakura admonished him.
"Hahaha, it's been a long time since we've had so many guests for dinner," Tazuna said with a smile.
After finishing dinner, Sakura noticed a photograph that was missing a part.
"This photo is torn, why is that?" Sakura asked. "Inari was looking at it during dinner. It looks like there was someone else in the photo, but they were ripped out. It's very strange." Inari, Tazuna, and Tsunami's bodies tensed.
"He's my husband," Tsunami replied seriously as she washed the dishes.
"He was a hero in this land," Tazuna said sadly.
"A hero?" Bakugo asked, regaining interest in the conversation.
"Was it?" Sakura said, realizing she had made a mistake.
Inari left without saying goodbye to anyone and went straight to his room.
"Inari, where are you going?" Tsunami said, worried. But Inari didn't answer and slammed the door shut.
"Father, you can't talk about him in front of Inari! You already knew that!" Tsunami said, angry at Tazuna. After saying that, she left the dining room to follow her son.
"Inari..." Sakura said, regretting the photo.
"Tell us the story of that hero, old man," Bakugo said, interested in whether he was from his world.
"He wasn't her real father. He came to our family later and brought us great happiness. He and Inari were very close. Back then, Inari was always laughing. But then..." Tazuna struggled to continue, fighting back tears. "That was all over. She hasn't laughed or smiled since that day."
"What happened to Inari?" Kakashi asked.
"First, you must learn the story of his father, the man who taught us courage and was a hero in this land," Tazuna began. "He arrived here about three years ago..."
In the following minutes, Tazuna recounted how a fisherman named Kaiza came to the Land of Waves seeking better luck. He found Inari in the water and saved him from drowning. He taught the boy everything he knew about life, emphasizing that he should protect the things precious to him with all his might. Eventually, he married Tsunami and acted as a role model for Inari. He saved the village from a flood by closing the floodgate at the risk of his own life. Then Gatoh appeared, trying to take over the Land of Waves. Kaiza tried to stop him, but lost to the businessman's men. Gatoh decided to set him up as an example to all who would conspire against him. To do so, the businessman's men first cut off his arms and then publicly executed him.
"I'll always remember the last words he said to Inari, amidst his tears before Kaiza died. That he was a liar for not keeping his word to protect the city and him," Tazuna concluded, unable to hold back the tears that flowed uncontrollably from his face.
Heroes do not exist
Inari's words hit Bakugo like a hammer. He wanted to cheer Inari up, but Bakugo was never good with words; he was more of an action-oriented person. So he got up from the table and headed for the exit.
"Where are you going, Bakugo?" Sakura asked.
"Outside," Bakugo replied, opening the door.
"Are you crazy or what's wrong with you?" Sakura said, incredulous. "It's pouring with rain!"
"I have to prove to that kid that heroes do exist. But to do that, you need more than just the desire to save people. You need the strength to win. And I don't yet have the strength to defeat the eyebrowless bastard. So I'll get that strength no matter what it takes," Bakugo replied with the same determination with which he promised himself he would become Hokage to uncover the truth about the Uchiha massacre.
"Bakugo..." Sakura said, amazed by the ash-blonde's maturity.
"This guy..." Tazuna said, wiping away his tears.
"I'm glad I was wrong about my initial impression of Bakugo. I have Minato to thank for appointing him to me," Kakashi thought, smiling beneath his mask.
"Wait a minute, Bakugo," Sasuke said, standing up from his chair.
"What do you want?" Bakugo asked, turning his face away.
"If you're alone, you're such an idiot that you're bound to die of pneumonia. I'll go with you," Sasuke said, accompanying the ash-blond.
"You too, Sasuke?" Sakura said, worried.
—Ha. What you don't want is for me to surpass you, and that's why you're going to keep an eye on me, Sasuke. —said Bakugo, leaving the house.
"Whatever you say," Sasuke replied, rolling his eyes. After leaving, he closed the door, leaving Sakura, Kakashi, and Tazuna alone in the dining room.
"I was wrong about your students, Kakashi. Especially the blond one," Tazuna commented with a smile.
"You're not the only one, Tazuna," Kakashi said.
Days passed, training progressing slowly but surely. Finally, at dusk on the sixth day of training, both Bakugo and Sasuke managed to reach the top of the tree.
"Congratulations, Sasuke!" Sakura said happily. "I knew you'd make it." She then looked at Bakugo. "I'm not congratulating you, I'm sure you just got it by chance."
"You're lucky I'm a pool of air and nothing affects me," Bakugo said.
"You've finally matured, Bakugo," Kakashi thought proudly.
—And I wouldn't even say something like that, you're going to find out, you damn big forehead! —Bakugo shouted, jumping out of the tree, making his hands explode.
"Or maybe not," Kakashi thought, a drop of hope on the back of his neck.
—Aaaaaa, save me Sasuke!—Sakura shouted, running in circles while being chased by Bakugo.
"Idiots," Sasuke said with a sigh.
"If I'm still sane when the training is over, it will be a miracle," Kakashi thought.
The next day, Kakashi had recovered from the fatigue from using the Sharingan. On his orders, he, Sasuke, and Sakura went to the bridge to protect Tazuna. Bakugo would stay home to protect Inari and Tsunami.
—Go away. You still have time to avoid being killed by Gatoh's men.—Inari said to Bakugo, who was eating the breakfast Tsunami had prepared.
"Huh?" Bakugo said, raising an eyebrow.
"All that stupid training is just a waste of time," Inari said, sobbing. "Gatoh has an entire army. He'll defeat you, then destroy you. The strong always win, and the weak always lose."
"The same thing that happened to your father isn't going to happen to me, brat," Bakugo retorted.
"Don't talk about my father! You don't know him!" Inari shouted, banging the table.
"From what your drunken grandfather said, he was a hero. Well, I happen to be one too, so I probably know better than you, kiddo," Bakugo said with his signature smirk.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT HEROES DON'T EXIST FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND?" Inari snorted. "My father wasn't a hero, and neither are you!"
"Yes, he was," Bakugo replied, his tone so stern it scared little Inari. He became so serious when he remembered his student teacher who died at the hands of All For One. "Just because your father died and couldn't keep his promise doesn't take away from the fact that he was a hero. A hero who saves lives."
"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Inari shouted, running out of her house.
He tried to run until he disappeared into the forest, but he collided with a heavy body that made him fall on his butt.
"Well, well. Look at that. We won't need to use the sword to open the door," said a swordsman, his body tattooed and wearing an eye patch.
Behind him were at least 15 men who also carried swords.
"Tell your mom to come out. We want to talk to her. Hahahahaha," the tattooed man laughed, followed by the rest of the men.
"They're Gatoh's men. They want my mother. I have... I have..." Inari thought, covering her face.
"Huh? What's that?" a swordsman asked, seeing an object coming dangerously close to his face. It was a bowl of ramen traveling at an alarming speed and hitting him, knocking him unconscious.
"WHO WAS IT?" the tattooed man said, annoyed. "SHOW YOUR FACE!"
—X-CATAPULT! —Bakugo shouted, flying with his explosions towards the group of swordsmen.
While in the air, Bakugo grabbed the tattooed man with one of his arms, then propelled himself in a spinning motion, firing off explosions with his free arm. Once he gained enough momentum, Bakugo forcefully threw his opponent with the help of another explosion in the direction of the rest of the swordsmen, making them fall like bowling pins. Only a couple remained conscious, but Bakugo sent them to sleep with a few small explosions.
"Bakugo!" Inari said, glad that Bakugo fixed the situation.
—Tsk. Shit, if these extras are here... That means the eyebrow-less bastard is on the bridge fighting with my companions. —Then he flew with the help of his quirk, Iron Man-style, to see if there were any more thugs left. When he saw that there weren't, he landed on the ground. —Little guy, stay with your mother. I'm going to settle scores with a bastard. —
"Bakugo, before you go..." Inari said, embarrassed. "You said my father was a hero who saved people, and that you're a hero too. What kind of hero are you?"
Bakugo thought about his answer for a few seconds. Something All Might had told him came to mind.
Young Bakugo, to be a great hero you need your desire to win but you also need the desire to save young Midoriya.
—I was the kind of hero who only wanted to win. But to be number 1, I have to win, and I have to save. That's why I have to save the asses of my useless teammates. When I get back, tell your mom to cook something spicy. I'm sick of such bland food, Bakugo said.
"I will..." That was the last thing Bakugo heard as he hurried off toward the bridge. "And thank you..." He said the last part in a whisper.
"They better not have died. The only one who can kill my useless teammates is me," Bakugo thought, worried.