The Unexpected Mission

by Stephylococcus

Squad Seven has returned from the Land of Waves after facing the Demon of the Mist, but their toughest mission lies ahead and its implications are staggering. Can Kakashi bring them together to complete the unexpected mission? Written from the POV of Kakashi, this takes place between episodes 19 and 20 in season 1.

The Unexpected Mission

"Hey, what's this all about anyways?" Naruto Uzumaki exclaims, balling his fists and jutting his chin up. The three lines on each of his cheeks resemble whiskers, and they are now contorted with his scowl. His jumpsuit is orange and navy blue with a white collar, with the red, swirling Uzushiogakure symbol embroidered on the back. His outfit, now wet and dirty, stands out jarringly against the blue water of the river and the green hues of the forest. His spiky yellow hair is ruffled, and his navy blue Shinobi headband bearing the Hidden Leaf Village symbol on a metal plate is slightly askew.

"It's a very simple task," I reply in my calm, bored-sounding voice. I cock my right eyebrow at him, the one not covered by my own blue Shinobi headband. "Don't tell me the greatest ninja in the world, the one who will become the next Hokage, can't fill a bucket with water."

"Well I-"

"But Sensei, I don't understand," Sakura Haruno chimes in, cutting Naruto's heated reply off and setting her bucket on the ground in frustration. Her red dress is trimmed with white, and has one white circle on the front and another on her upper back. The dress splits at her hips, coming down to her knees and exposing her short, green leggings underneath. She is also waterlogged, and her long, pink hair, held back by her own blue Shinobi headband, occasionally drips. Her emerald green eyes narrow in suspicion. "Is this some kind of trick?"

"Of course it is," comes the reply.

Sasuke Uchiha stares sulkily at his own bucket brooding, analyzing.

"There is no way to fill a bucket full of holes with water…normally. We have to apply our chakra, but where…how…" he trails off, eyebrows coming together in a deep frown. His royal blue shirt has a high collar with white on the inside, and the red and white fan symbol of the Uchiha clan is on the back. He is also wet in places, and his white shorts have brown splotches from the riverbank. His bluish-black hair falls around his blue Shinobi headband, and his dark eyes never leave the bucket.

"At least one of you is making progress," I say, smiling under my facemask toward Sasuke.

"Yeah, well I'm going to get this thing figured out before he does, believe it!" Naruto shouts, turning back to his bucket. He picks it up and defiantly sinks it into the river, his bright blue eyes narrowed in concentration. Once more, water flows out of the several holes in the sides and bottom, dousing him.

We might be here for a while, I sigh to myself, sitting down on a tree root and opening my copy of Makeout Paradise. I run a hand through my long, silver hair, reinforcing the messy spikes, and I adjust my navy blue facemask. I lean back against the tree, enjoying the feel of the breeze coming off the water as I read.

Heck, I may even get to take a nap at this-

"Ah hah!" Sakura exclaims suddenly, running up to me. She proudly holds out her bucket, which is full of crystal clear water despite the holes.

I stand up and take a good look at it.

"Very good Sakura, it would appear you're still the best at controlling your chakra," I say, turning toward Sasuke and Naruto.

"Yes! Do you see it Sasuke? I got it all figured out!" Sakura beams, fishing for a compliment.

Sasuke says nothing, his frown deepening.

"Whoa, Sakura how did you do it? Tell me, tell me!" Naruto exclaims, running up to look at her bucket.

Sakura looks to me, uncertain.

"Go ahead Sakura, share your knowledge with the team," I tell her.

Sakura dumps her bucket, and then moves to the water's edge. "The first step is knowing where to focus your energy, your chakra," Sakura begins, adopting her classroom lecture voice. "At first I thought it was the water, but then I realized you have to focus it on-"

"The bucket!" Sasuke exclaims, interrupting her. His eyes widen as he regards his bucket with new interest.

"Yes, that's right," Sakura says, nodding in approval.

"Hey, yeah, I knew that!" Naruto shouts, putting his arms up behind his head and smiling.

"Will you be quiet? You're so annoying!" Sakura snaps, momentarily stepping out of her lecture mode. Naruto flinches back, his arms coming around in front of him defensively. Sakura clears her throat.

"Anyways, by focusing your chakra on the bucket you can repel the water away from the sides so that none of the water is actually reaching the holes. See?"

Sakura concentrates momentarily then dips her bucket in the river. It comes up full, none of the water leaking out.

"While effective, that's just one of the ways to prevent the water from escaping." I say, taking Sakura's bucket from her. I dump it, holding it up for all three to see. "Maintaining a steady stream of chakra to repel the water is draining, and while it serves the purpose it is not necessary in this case. You were right that your chakra should flow through the bucket, Sakura, but the easiest method is to simply use it to fill the holes."

I reach inwardly and build my chakra, almost reflexively. Channeling it to the hand holding the bucket, I push it through the bucket and use it to mold the wood so that the holes are covered. I hold it up so that all three can see. Then, just as quickly, I recreate the holes and hand the bucket back to Sakura.

"I do appreciate your creativity, but in a battle you're going to want to use chakra in the most efficient way possible so you can conserve your strength," I tell her. "Try doing it like this."

"You got it!"

She takes the bucket and concentrates, small creases forming on her forehead. The bucket ripples as her chakra moves through it, and slowly the holes disappear as she warps the wood. She dips the bucket in the river, and no water leaks out.

"Impressive," I tell her, and Sakura's cheeks flush from the praise.

Naruto stares at her bucket, his mouth agape, and then glowers at Sasuke. Sasuke returns his glare, and then they both turn their backs to one another and pick up their buckets.

I do think their competitiveness pushes each of them to do better, but I worry it will prevent them from ever being a cohesive squad, I think to myself, watching them.

"You can do it Sasuke, I believe in you," Sakura calls to him.

Even though his back is partially turned I can still sense him rolling his eyes. Naruto bristles at her comment, throwing another glare at Sasuke's back.

I lean against the tree and reopen my book, and after a couple of minutes I hear a soft grunt.

I look up to see Sasuke holding his bucket, now devoid of holes and full of water. He has a self-satisfied smile, and he turns to Naruto. "Looks like I beat you again, loser."

Naruto's fists ball up and his face turns red. Grimacing, he picks up his bucket. His eyes narrow and veins pop out in his neck as he concentrates, and I can sense the rage flowing through him. Very tentatively, the wood starts rippling and moving. It takes about thirty seconds, but when he finishes all of the holes are filled.

He stares at the bucket for a moment, almost in disbelief, then throws it into the air and shouts, "YEAH! I knew I could do it WOO-HOO!"

He starts jumping up and down and continues to shout exclamations.

Sakura glares at him in annoyance while Sasuke eyes him with contempt.

I smile to myself, thinking, Even though he doesn't have Sakura's chakra control or Sasuke's perception, his spirit alone is enough to let him succeed.

Just then, I notice the slightest shift in the shadows in the trees above my right shoulder. I pause, watching with my one eye for any other movement, and then relax.

"Great job, everyone," I say, cutting off Naruto's celebration. Now, why would this be a useful technique to master for battle?"

Naruto stares at me blankly, Sasuke looks like he's pondering his answer, and Sakura raises her hand.

"Yes Sakura?"

"Well Sensei, is it because mastering the manipulation of inanimate objects could give us an advantage over an enemy in battle?"

"That's exactly right," I reply. "Anything your body touches can be manipulated by chakra, you just have to be able to focus it and shape it to your will. Remember the tree climbing exercise?"

Sakura beams, and I see Sasuke and Naruto inwardly groan.

"What if I told you another way you could have climbed the tree was to use your chakra to form the bark and create footholds as you were climbing. This uses much more chakra than climbing the way I taught you, but it's just one example of how you can manipulate the physical world with chakra to suit your needs. Imagine you're facing an enemy on a rocky cliff face like those found in the Land of Water. You can use your chakra to loosen the rocks he is standing on, throwing off his balance and giving you an opening.

"The more you practice, the further you will be able to push out your chakra into your surroundings. Now the times you will want or need to do this are few and far between, as using this technique leaves you extremely vulnerable to attack and most of your chakra will be needed for jutsu. But mastering this technique will give you a slight advantage over an opponent who hasn't, and any advantage can be the difference between life and death in battle."

All three of them consider my words, and I fold my arms over my vest.

"Now then, let's break for lunch. Go get yourselves cleaned up, grab something to eat, and we'll meet back here in an hour."

Sasuke nods and immediately leaps into the trees, bounding through the woods from branch to branch back to the village.

"Sasuke, wait!" Sakura calls, rushing to follow him.

Naruto sighs, then he too starts back through the forest.

After watching them leave, I turn to the trees I had sensed the presence in earlier.

"Eavesdropping is rude, you know," I call up to him. A figure drops down, and I see Iruka, an instructor for the ninja academy, walking over.

I meet him halfway and stop, folding my arms.

"To what do I owe this visit?" I ask him.

Iruka is dressed almost identical to me in the normal Shinobi garb of our village. His navy blue pants are wrapped with white bandages from mid-calf down to his ankles, and the pouch containing his kunai knives and shuriken is strapped to his right thigh. His navy blue shoes, like mine, are the standard for most ninja. His navy jacket is the same material as his pants, and comes up to a turtleneck.

Embroidered on each upper arm is the red, swirling Uzushiogakure symbol from the Land of Whirlpools, which many Hidden Leaf village ninja wear to symbolize our friendship with that country. The same symbol is on the back of his collared army-green vest, and a utility pouch sits on the back of his left hip. He doesn't wear gloves or a facemask, unlike me, and his headband sits straight on his forehead. His brown hair is held back in a high, wild ponytail, and his dark eyes are friendly.

Iruka smiles, the scar that runs from cheek to cheek across his nose crinkling.

"I came to check in on my favorite squad, and I have a message from the Hokage" Iruka says, offering me the scroll he's carrying.

I take the scroll and open it, studying the contents. My eyes widen when I read the message at the bottom.

"A mission?" I finally ask, wondering how much Iruka knows.

"As you can see it's a C-rank, but the Hokage thought your squad was more than up to the challenge," Iruka explains cheerfully, clearly ignorant of the mission's true nature. "Especially after they proved themselves on the mission in the Land of Waves."

I think back to that fateful mission only weeks ago, the battles with Haku and Zabuza, and how much each of them grew during that time. They more than proved themselves, especially Naruto. It was a miracle none of us got killed, I think to myself. I remember the feeling of helplessness when I was trapped in Zabuza's water prison, watching the three of them choose to stand and fight after repeatedly telling them to run. I remember the cold fear of facing Zabuza's hidden mist jutsu when my Sharingan eye was blind. I remember Sakura's anguish and pain when she thought Sasuke was dead. But then I remember Sasuke discovering his own Sharingan in the midst of Haku's trap, Naruto unleashing the power of the Nine-Tail Fox sealed inside him to defeat Haku, and Sakura risking her life to guard Tazuna the bridge-builder. They have already grown so much. But are they ready for this?

"Kakashi, are you alright?" Iruka asks, interrupting my thoughts.

"Sorry, just lost in thought," I reply, smiling under my facemask. "We'd be more than happy to take on the mission. Please let the Hokage know we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright, will do," Iruka says, turning to leave. He hesitates, and then turns back. I know the question he's going to ask before he even says anything.

"Kakashi, how is Naruto doing?" he asks, trying to mask the concern in his voice.

He cares so much for the kid, I think. Although I must admit I'm starting to grow rather fond of him myself.

"Naruto is doing great. He's still, well, Naruto, but he's making good progress and is picking up most of the techniques. You have nothing to worry about Iruka."

He smiles, clearly relieved, and says, "Well good, glad to hear it. I'm going to get your message back to the Hokage. See you around Kakashi."

I watch as he disappears into the forest and then I sit down once more at my tree by the river. My mind lingers on the mission, and I know I'll have to be extremely vigilant in the coming days if all is to go according to plan. Before long though, the warm sun and the soft breeze and the soothing river clear my thoughts and I relax, settling into a light sleep.

I awake suddenly when I feel multiple presences approaching. I feel a slight diversion in the wind, I hear blades of grass being trampled by three sets of feet, and I feel the vibrations in the ground from their steps. I stay in my position, feigning sleep.

"Should we wake him?" Sakura asks in hushed tones.

"Of course we do, he might sleep all afternoon if we let him," Naruto says at full volume.

"No, I have a better idea. How about we test ourselves against him," Sasuke says, excitement coloring his voice.

I chuckle silently to myself.

"Sasuke, is that a good idea?" Sakura asks.

But Sasuke isn't there anymore; I can feel the vibrations in the ground as he bounds back into the forest.

"Well I'm not taking any part in this," Sakura says, and I sense her sit down on a rock on the riverbank.

"I'm not letting Sasuke have all the fun, I'll get Kakashi Sensei before he does, believe it!"

And with that I hear Naruto take off into the trees as well.

And now we wait, I think to myself. I know Naruto will try and strike first; his pride won't let him wait for Sasuke. And then when I'm distracted with Naruto, Sasuke will attempt an attack. It's almost too easy.

It comes, just as I know it will, the sound of a kunai knife whistling through the air. I let it strike me, or rather what used to be me, executing a substitution jutsu and materializing in the tree branches above. A log appears where I was sitting below, the kunai sticking in its side. I feel the air move behind me and I duck, dodging Naruto's kick.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" He yells.

Another Naruto, a clone, drops down from above and I jump to the left, alighting on a neighboring tree branch. I immediately dodge a wave of shuriken slicing through the air towards me, Sasuke's this time. Three Naruto clones come at me, and I finish each off with a few blows of my own kunai knife. The real Naruto grabs me from behind, but too late. I execute another substitution jutsu and Naruto is left holding a log. Before he can let go, I grab my wire strings from my back pouch and bind him to the log. I wrap the last bit around his ankle and the tree branch and give him a shove. He yells as he falls, now dangling upside down from the tree branch, strapped to the log.

"Hey let me out of here!" he shouts, fighting against his bindings.

But my focus is now on Sasuke, who has appeared on the tree branch in front of me. He charges, and I block a flurry of fierce strikes. I glance a tripwire behind me out of the corner of my eye right as I'm about to break it.

Clever, he set that up fast, I think to myself. I jump at the last second, going up and around Sasuke. Before he can turn around I push him forward, and he stumbles across the wire, breaking it. A large branch drops down from the treetops, catching him full in the chest and knocking him all the way to the ground. He lies there gasping, trying to catch his breath while Naruto still shouts and struggles up in the trees. I jump down after Sasuke, and straighten.

Movement behind me makes me stiffen, and I leap forward just in time to avoid the kunai knife Sakura was raising to my throat.

"Darn!" she exclaims from behind me.

Hmph, so much for her sitting this one out, I think as I form a few quick hand signs.

I look over my shoulder at her, smile under my mask, and then disappear.

"Where did he go?" she exclaims, the disbelief apparent in her voice.

I reach up from below ground and grab her ankle, hearing her small shriek at my touch. Before she can move I yank her down into the earth.

"Earth style head hunter jutsu!"

Now just her head is above ground, the rest of her buried in the soft earth. I walk over to her.

"You may have taken me by surprise, but you let your guard down Sakura. Otherwise you would have noticed my hand signs," I tell her.

I look over to see that Sasuke has regained his feet.

"I believe you're familiar with this jutsu," I say to him. He scowls as he remembers the very first test I gave them, when I used the exact same jutsu on him.

"Now Sasuke, cut Naruto down. I'll unbury Sakura and then we'll talk."

When all three are gathered before me, I turn to Sakura.

"So, how could you tell I wasn't actually asleep?" I ask her.

"Well, your breathing was long and measured like you were sleeping, but when Naruto started practically yelling and you didn't stir at all that's when I knew," she explains, smiling.

"So you said that line about not joining in to make me drop my guard, knowing I could hear you. Very good," I tell her. Her smile grows, and I sigh, briefly closing my eyes.

"But you all still haven't learned the lesson I've been trying to teach you since day one. Teamwork. The day you coordinate your attacks against me is the day you succeed. You're getting closer, taking advantage of openings created by each other, but that will only get you so far. If you want to have any hope of beating me, you're going to have to do it together."

I clear my throat.

"Now then, I have some news. The Hokage has given us a new mission, a C-rank. We will be going to the Land of Wind to retrieve a document, and then we will bring it back to the Hokage. There is no reason to believe this document is of any great importance, and the mission should be pretty straightforward. We'll meet our client outside Oashisu village by the border, retrieve the document, and then start back. We will have to travel through the Land of Rivers to reach the Land of Wind, and our client asked us to keep our presence in both countries a secret. I'll admit this is a harder mission than any you've done before, but I have faith in your abilities."

Hopefully that's all it will be, I think to myself. I remember the note the Hokage left me at the bottom of the mission explaining the real reason for it, and his warning.

"Oh boy, another real mission! I can't wait, this is so awesome!" Naruto exclaims, fist pumping the air.

Sasuke smiles, anticipation and excitement in his eyes. Sakura looks momentarily uncertain, but then lifts her chin in determination.

I feel a rush of pride as I look at each of them, and a sense of resolve overcomes me.

If any squad has the ability to complete this mission, it's this one. And if it comes to it, I'll protect them with my life.

"I'm going to give you the rest of the day off to rest and prepare. Meet me in front of the village gates at dawn, and we'll head out."

"Right! I can't wait!" Naruto shouts. He jumps into the trees, racing back to the village. "I'm going to get packed right now!"

Sakura takes off after him, shouting "Naruto, wait! Shouldn't we discuss this more?"

Sasuke's eyes follow them, and then he turns back to me.

"Yes?" I ask him.

"There's more to the mission, isn't there." He says flatly. It's not a question.

"What makes you say that?" I ask, intrigued by his perceptiveness.

"Well first off the Land of Fire is allies with the Land of Wind. Why would they need ninja from the Land of Fire to retrieve a document when they could just send an envoy? Also, we've been doing nothing but D-rank missions since we got back from the Land of Waves, and a mission that requires us to travel unnoticed shouldn't be a C-rank mission. Why would a squad of rookie Genin be chosen for a high-level mission when this seems more suited for Chuunin?"

I study him, wondering how much to reveal. I remember his panic when we faced Zabuza, the terror he felt while trapped in the mist. His mental fortitude has increased since then, but I need him to be focused if we are going to succeed. Better to not burden him with it until absolutely necessary.

"Sasuke, you're going to have to trust me."

"Huh?" His eyes widen, and his mouth opens to protest.

"Listen. You're right that there is more to the mission, but the goal remains the same. We get the document and bring it back. The rest of it does not concern you right now. If there comes a time that you need to know, I'll tell you. I promise."

Sasuke considers it a moment, and drops his gaze.

"Alright."

"Take this time to relax and prepare, and I'll see you tomorrow," I tell him.

Sasuke nods, and starts back toward the village.

In the meantime, I need to find the Hokage, I think. I leap straight up, landing for a brief instant on the branch above me before pushing myself forward to the next. As I lithely bound from branch to branch I hear Sasuke ahead of me and I slow my pace slightly, allowing him to pull ahead. After a few more minutes of running, the entrance to the village comes into sight and I drop to the ground a few feet from the pathway. The dirt path leading up to the village is littered with people coming and going, and I walk at a brisk pace toward the open wooden gates, dodging them as I go. Just inside the entrance on the left is a small booth where two of the village's Chuunin are on guard duty. One of them gives me a polite nod as I pass, which I return. The Hidden Leaf village spills out in front of me, and I feel an almost subconscious sense of pride, love, and security as I pass the first few buildings. Remembering my need to find the Hokage, I jump to the roof of the closest building and run across, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as I make my way across the village.

The streets below are bustling with people out to enjoy the sunny day. Small shops with large, colorful signs display their wares outside and people drift aimlessly from one stand to another, laughing and chatting. Various restaurants emit mouthwatering aromas, and I glimpse the back of Naruto's jacket as he sits at his favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku. The more residential districts are quieter, the houses of the great clans Hyuga and Nara looking dark and proud in the distance on each side of the village. Various other apartments and houses line the streets, and I deftly leap from roof to roof.

As I dodge power lines and other obstacles I see the ninja academy and the Hokage's office drawing ever closer, but my destination lies beyond them. The great Hokage Monument rises high above the village, its tan crags providing a natural defense for the village. At the top of the mountain is the home of the Anbu Black Ops - an elite corps of ninja that handles especially dangerous or sensitive missions - and inside the mountain disaster shelters have been hollowed out that the villagers can be evacuated into in the event of an emergency. Carved onto the mountainside are the faces of the four Hokages, or village leaders. Hashirama Senju was the first Hokage, and a founder of the Hidden Leaf Village. The second Hokage was his brother, Tobirama Senju. The third and current Hokage is Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he was a pupil of Tobirama. The Fourth Hokage was Minato Namikaze, whom Hiruzen hand selected to succeed him. Minato sacrificed his life during the battle with the Nine-Tailed Fox in order to seal the Fox's spirit in the body of an infant, his son, Naruto Uzumaki. Upon his death the third Hokage came out of retirement to take back the office, and he has served ever since.

I drop to the ground in front of the ninja academy, and take the walkway leading around it. The building is massive, its white walls topped with red and orange roof tiles. The main entrance has the symbol for fire on a large sign above the red double doors, and the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village above it. Windows dot the sides of the building, and the soft, droning voice of a Chuunin teacher drifts from an open one on the second floor as I pass. From the sound of it, they're reviewing the transformation jutsu. Off to the side of the building another class runs laps around the practice field, a different Chuunin overseeing them. The Hokage's office and residence is a rounded, bright red building built in the academy complex, but I know he won't be there today. I see two of the village's other Jonin, elite ninja the same rank as myself, coming from the Hokage's office, and reckon they must have just found that out themselves. As I round the last corner of the building the base of the mountain lies before me. I can just make out the Hokage up on the main observation platform, his hands clasped behind his back as he stares up at the faces. I quickly ascend to the platform, joining the Hokage to gaze at the monument.

"Kakashi," he greets me. He is garbed in his usual red robes with a white, long-sleeve coat on top. A white sash is affixed around his waist, and a bundle of white cloth gathers at his neck. The Hokage's traditional hat is pyramidal in shape, red except for one white triangle at the front with the symbol for fire embroidered in red. White cloth hangs down from the sides of his hat to his shoulders, obscuring his face from the sides. His face is tan and wrinkled, with age marks below his left eye. A pointed white beard grows from his narrow chin, and his short white hair can only barely be seen under the hat. His eyes at one moment appear thoughtful and at another fierce, but always radiate kindness underneath.

"You always come here when something's troubling you," I tell him, keeping my gaze on the monument.

He raises a wooden pipe to his mouth, puffing it thoughtfully.

"I often come to ask their advice, even though I know they can no longer answer. It helps to calm the mind," he responds wistfully. His voice is low and gravelly, showing his age.

"Are you asking them about the mission?" I ask.

The Hokage sighs deeply, lowering his head and turning to me.

"I know it's no small task I have given you and your squad. We have to send Genin in order to keep suspicions low, and all of the more experienced Genin squads are already on other C-rank missions. Of all the rookie squads, I firmly believe yours is the best equipped to successfully complete this mission."

I consider it a moment. "I don't disagree, but the warning you left me needs clarification."

I meet his gaze, and I see a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

"When I wrote that you should be prepared for the worst before accepting this mission, I wanted to make sure you understand what's at stake. Our client says this document details a plot to start a fourth Shinobi war among the five great countries, and he doesn't know if anyone knows he has it. If the conspirators of this plot find him before your squad retrieves the document, you could be walking straight into an ambush. In our last correspondence he said he did not believe he had been found out, but that questions were starting to be asked. That is the risk you are taking with this mission."

"And if the document is going to be lost to us, do I have clearance to read it and relay the information to you?" I ask.

"The client was very specific on this, in fact, it was the main condition of this mission. I am the only one he will allow to read it."

I close my eyes briefly and sigh. It's all or nothing, then, I think to myself.

"My squad leaves at dawn. We will do our best to bring the document back to you," I tell him.

The Hokage nods, and locks eyes with me. "Move quickly, and be prepared for anything."

I immediately leap from the platform, racing back down the mountain. My mind swirls with thought, but my body moves of its own accord, leading me through the village to the training grounds. Before I realize it, I'm standing in the clearing in front of the Memorial Stone. The dark blue granite is shaped like the diamond blade of a kunai knife, and the names of every Leaf Village Shinobi who have died in combat are engraved there. I find his name instantly, feeling the normal waves of guilt and sadness upon seeing it. I stand still for a moment, letting the soft breeze wash over me as I stare at the name in the stone.

"I've got my work cut out for me this time," I finally tell him. "My squad has been tasked with retrieving a very important document from the Land of Wind, and I don't know if other ninja are after it too. I have faith in their abilities, but I have to expect the worst. I wish…" I trail off, my churning thoughts swallowing my words.

I automatically start reflecting on all the mistakes I've made during my time as a Shinobi, and all the things I wish I could do different. It's become my ritual when I visit here, my own way of meditating. I barely move as the sun slips ever downward toward the tree line, warm orange light bathing me. I've spent so many hours here that there is comfort in the familiarity of the place, despite the sadness and guilt that comes with facing Obito. I feel the same way when I visit Rin's grave as well. Telling them about the happenings of the village, sharing my hopes and fears and regrets with them, it feels like I'm carrying out a duty, like I owe them an account of everything that is happening since they can't be here to see it themselves. As dusk claims the clearing I sigh, and dip my head toward the memorial.

"Goodbye for now, Obito."

My mind calmed, I leave the training grounds behind me and make my way through the village, the activity in the streets now much more subdued. When I reach my small apartment I quickly dress for bed, and as the moon rises above the village I settle into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I wake up before my alarm clock as I always do, and turn it off before it can ring. I quickly get dressed, using the dim village lights and the sparse moonlight to see by. The moon reflects off the framed pictures I keep on my windowsill, and I pause to look at them. The first is of Rin, Obito, and I when we were still Genin and assigned to the squad of Minato Namikaze – who would later become the fourth Hokage. The second is of my current squad. Naruto glares at Sasuke, who is frowning, while Sakura beams between them. I lean over them from behind, my hands resting on Naruto and Sasuke's heads. I smile to myself, and grab my green backpack from underneath my desk. As I pack I think about the mission, and I wonder exactly what is in store for us.

When I'm satisfied with my preparations I leave the apartment and set off into the village. The streets are deserted, and the wind whistles slightly as it passes between the buildings. I reach the gates before any light has appeared on the horizon, and I lean on a building close by to wait for the rest of the team to arrive. There are two different Chuunin guarding the gates this morning in the stand across the road, and one of them calls out to me.

"Early morning for you, Kakashi."

"Or maybe it's a very late night," I reply cryptically. It's not that I care to obscure what I'm doing, they'll know it's a mission as soon as they see the rest of my squad, but small talk has never been appealing to me. I turn back toward the village.

I spot Sasuke first, with Sakura right behind him.

"Good morning," I greet them as they come to stand beside me.

"So, you're not late this time," Sasuke remarks, eyeing me from the side.

"The path of life wasn't quite so winding this morning," I tell him mildly, keeping my gaze on the village. We wait in silence for a while, and the sky to the East starts to lighten. I wonder what's keeping Naruto, I think. He better not still be asleep.

"Where is Naruto?" Sakura asks, mirroring my thoughts, exasperation coloring her voice slightly.

"I bet the loser forgot to set an alarm," Sasuke replies, frowning.

A few more minutes pass by and I sigh, lowering my head and turning to Sasuke. "Maybe you better go check-"

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late!" Naruto calls from across the road. He sprints to the three of us, dropping his backpack at his feet and leaning his hands on his knees, panting.

"Naruto, where have you been? We've been waiting forever!" Sakura exclaims, glaring at him.

"Now that we're all here," I say, giving Naruto a meaningful look, "let me explain some things about this mission. We should try and reach the rendezvous point as quickly as possible, so while inside our borders we will travel at full speed. As you know the client wishes us to travel undetected through River Country, which means once we cross the border we can't let ourselves be spotted by anyone we encounter on the road. If we come across regular travellers then we can hide along the side of the road until they pass, but if we encounter other Shinobi then we will need to use the transformation jutsu. If they detect us hiding then they may think we are trying to ambush them, and that would draw way too much attention to ourselves. Now then, let me see each of you transform into a River Country traveler."

Sakura steps forward. She positions her hands in the proper hand sign, and says, "Transform."

She disappears momentarily in a puff of white smoke and is replaced with an older lady. She wears a simple gray dress, and her black hair is tied back with a bandana. She carries a large basket with fish inside.

"Good," I tell her. With another puff of smoke she reverts back to her normal form.

I turn to Sasuke, and see that his hands are already forming the sign. "Transform," he says.

When the smoke clears an old man with a grizzly white beard is standing before me. He has a stained shirt and pants on, and he is leaning heavily on a driftwood cane.

"Good," I tell him. He transforms back to himself, and I turn to look at Naruto. He's smiling, and I get a bad feeling as he forms the hand sign.

"Transform," Naruto says.

When the smoke clears, a smoking hot, completely naked woman stands poised in front of me. Her long blond hair is held in two pigtails, and she winks a long-lashed blue eye at me.

I feel my eyes widen, and blood rushes through my body. Get it together, I growl at myself, and after a moment I narrow my eyes.

"Do you think this is some kind of joke? The success of this mission may depend on your ability to transform quickly and convincingly, and if you can't take this seriously then I will leave you in the village," I bark at him.

Naruto reappears in a puff of white smoke. "Alright, alright," he says sulkily. "Transform!"

A golden retriever appears out of the smoke, his tail wagging. He barks a few times then stands on his back legs, putting his paws up on Sakura's dress and trying to lick her face.

"Aaah! Get off me, get off!" Sakura exclaims, trying to force him back.

Naruto reappears in another cloud of smoke, laughing. I smile despite myself, and cross my arms.

"That will work, but try not to jump on the other Shinobi if you actually have to transform," I tell him.

I look to the East and see that the sun is almost above the horizon, and I turn back to them. "Squad 7, it's time to move out."

"Alright!" Naruto exclaims, bounding forward and raising his balled fists in front of him. "We've got this mission in the bag, believe it!"

I lead them through the village gates and leap onto the branch of a large tree by the road. The others follow, and I pause, turning to them. "In the interest of time we are going to take a direct path to the border, and there will be minimal stops. We'll set up camp around sunset, and resume the journey in the morning."

"Let's get going then!" Naruto shouts. He jumps ahead from branch to branch, his laugh echoing in the forest. Sasuke takes off after Naruto, and Sakura rushes to catch up to him. Here we go, I think to myself.

We settle into a loose diamond formation, with Naruto a pace ahead of Sasuke and Sakura and me following a pace behind. We move swiftly, almost flying through the trees as the kilometers melt away behind us.

"Sakura," I eventually call out, breaking the silence we had been traveling under for the past few hours.

Her head turns back slightly towards me, her long pink hair streaming behind her. "Yes Sensei?"

"How many deer were in the clearing we just passed?"

She hesitates, and I see her head dip slightly. "I don't know," she replies finally.

"Sasuke, how many hollows were in the trunk of the tree you just passed?" I call to him.

He doesn't turn his head, but I can hear frustration in his voice. "I don't know."

Naruto giggles up ahead, and I smirk under my mask.

"Naruto," I call to him.

"Yes?" he replies. He turns toward us, and I see he's grinning.

"How long have we been traveling?" I ask.

His grin disappears, replaced by a scowl.

"How in the world should I know?" he shouts back.

I motion for them to stop, and we land on neighboring branches.

"Sasuke?" I ask, turning to him.

"Three and a half hours," he replies, smirking at Naruto.

Naruto glares at him and begins to say something, but I cut him off.

"And there were two hollows on the tree trunk, and there were five deer in the clearing."

Sasuke grunts and looks away, and Sakura lowers her head.

"Just because we're in our own territory doesn't mean you should let your guard down. Any time you're on a mission you should be especially observant of your surroundings.

"Now then, from here on I will be asking you different questions about your environment in order to help you train your observation skills. We'll break for lunch in another few hours."

Naruto nods and leaps to the next branch, and Sasuke and Sakura follow behind. I bring up the rear, and we pick up our previous pace. A half hour passes, and I decide it's time to test them again.

"Sakura," I call to her.

"Yes Sensei?" her voice is determined.

"How many birds did you just startle out of that tree?"

"Four," she replies confidently.

"That's correct," I tell her, and I see her shoulders squeeze up in excitement as she brings her fists to her chest.

"Sasuke," I call next.

"Yes?" he responds.

"Answer immediately. What direction is the wind blowing?"

"West," comes the swift reply, and I know he didn't have time to figure it out, that he had already known.

"Very good," I tell him.

"Naruto," I call finally.

"Yeah?" he shouts back, and I can tell he's grinning.

"Without looking, how far behind you am I?" I ask.

"Umm 10 meters, no! 6 meters! No, uh, 8 meters?" he finishes sheepishly, and I sigh.

"Listen to how long it takes for my footfall to come after yours on the same branch, that's how you tell. You're going to have to do better, Naruto," I tell him.

His head dips down momentarily in shame, but he quickly straightens.

"I'll get the next one right, believe it!"

I shake my head for a moment, amazed as always by his unhampered spirit, and we continue on.

I ask them another round of questions right before lunch, and once again Sakura and Sasuke are able to successfully answer theirs while Naruto struggles. I consider offering him a lunch at Ichiraku as incentive, but a better idea comes to me instead; a way Sasuke and Sakura can continue to hone their skills while driving Naruto to improve his.

"Alright, let's break for lunch," I tell them as we come to a small clearing.

Naruto drops his backpack in the middle of the clearing and immediately starts pulling out all manner of food; chips, cake, dumplings, rice balls, and more.

"Finally," he comments as he lays out a small feast in front of him. "I'm starving!"

"Naruto, how much junk food did you bring?" Sakura asks disapprovingly, but Naruto ignores her and she sets her backpack down next to Sasuke's. They both pull out rice balls and begin eating as they sit on the soft grass. I walk over to them.

"Hand me your canteens, there should be a creek nearby and I'm going to restock our water supply." I tell them.

Naruto distractedly hands me his, all of his attention on the food in front of him. Sasuke and Sakura also hand me theirs, and I glance up at the sky.

"Eat quick, we should get moving again as soon as possible."

Sakura nods, Naruto begins shoving food in his mouth with more gusto, and Sasuke grunts in acknowledgement.

I step into the forest, following the faint sound of water until I come across a small creek. The creek winds its way whimsically between the large oak trees and runs lazily with fresh, clear water. I set my pack down against a nearby tree and quickly refill all of the canteens. I pull out a couple rice balls from my pack and lower my mask, deep in thought as I eat.

From here on I'm going to have Sakura and Sasuke alternate asking Naruto questions about their surroundings. They will have to observe it themselves in order to ask about it, and Naruto won't stand for Sasuke being the one to train him. His competitiveness should drive him to succeed by any means necessary, just so he doesn't have to answer to Sasuke. I smile to myself as I finish my lunch, pulling my mask back up and grabbing the pack and the canteens. This just might work, I think.

I make my way back to the clearing, preparing to tell the three of them my plan, when I see it is deserted. Great, I think as I scan the trees with my uncovered eye. We don't have time for another skirmish.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, come on out. We don't have time for this, we need to get moving," I call into the trees.

The breeze is the only thing that answers me.

I could easily find them with my Sharingan eye, but I don't want to burn the chakra. Sakura especially should have come out by now, no, would have come out by now. Something isn't right.

I look at the clearing with new interest, and see that there are no imprints where the three of them had sat down, no ruffled grass from where I had been walking, no sign that we had been there before at all. Someone is using genjutsu, I think. I put my hands in the proper sign and bark, "Release!"

Immediately the forest swirls around me, like a reflection in water being stirred with a stick. The image quickly disappears altogether and I find myself once again sitting by the creek, my pack on the ground by the tree and the canteens propped up against it. I check the sun, and figure that I've only been gone from the clearing for about ten minutes. I sprint back toward the clearing, trying to understand what just happened. If someone put me under a genjutsu, they may be targeting my team, I think, alarm hastening my steps. When I arrive I see Sasuke leaning against a tree in the shade, Sakura sitting against her pack in the grass, and Naruto packing in the last morsels from his lunch. They all look up at my sudden arrival.

"Sasuke, activate your Sharingan and scan the forest around us, now!" I command.

"Why, what's going on?" Naruto exclaims, quickly getting to his feet. Sakura silences him with a look.

Hearing the urgency in my voice, Sasuke immediately straightens and briefly closes his eyes. When he opens them, blood-red rings with two black comma-like shapes in them have replaced his normal dark irises. These Sharingan eyes, which are the kekkei genkai or bloodline trait of the Uchiha clan, are passed down to select members of the clan from generation to generation. Since discovering his previously dormant ability during the battle with Haku and Zabuza, Sasuke has become able to activate it and deactivate it at will, unlike myself. My single Sharingan eye was surgically implanted to replace the eye I lost in battle as a last wish and gift by my fallen teammate, Obito Uchiha. Because I did not come by it naturally I have no way of deactivating it, and mine uses up much more chakra than a normal Sharingan. To counter this, I keep my eye hidden under my headband when it's not in use.

The Sharingan allows the user to see another Shinobi's chakra to a certain extent. It also drastically heightens visual perception so that the eyes capture even the slightest, quickest movement, including hand signs. Hand signs can be read before the jutsu is finished so that the Sharingan user knows ahead of time what jutsu is going to be performed. The user can also perfectly copy any jutsu used against them. The most advanced Sharingan technique is that, through eye contact, the user can push thoughts or actions onto the target, coercing their behavior.

As far as abilities go, I will never be able to master the Sharingan as well as Sasuke or his brother Itachi. When Itachi slaughtered all of the members of their clan, sparing Sasuke, they became the last living bearers of the kekkei genkai. Compared to them my single eye is nothing but a cheap imitation.

Sasuke scans the surrounding forest, and Naruto and Sakura stare at him intently. After a few more moments, he sighs and turns to me.

"I don't see anything," he says, his eyes reverting back to normal.

They probably ran off as soon as I broke the genjutsu, I think to myself.

"Does somebody want to explain what's going on here?" Naruto yells, clenching his fists. "What was all that about?"

"Oh nothing, I thought there might have been someone that followed us here but it looks like I was just being paranoid," I tell them, smiling and putting my hand up behind my head.

Sakura looks relieved and Naruto looks confused, but Sasuke stares at me intently, trying to read my thoughts. Before he can say anything I clear my throat and turn toward the forest.

"We need to get moving again, but there's some business I need to take care of. The three of you will continue on toward the border, and I'll rejoin you by sunset. Sasuke, Sakura, you will take turns asking Naruto questions about your environment until he gets three in a row right."

"That's not fair! You can't have Sasuke train me!" Naruto shouts, glaring at Sasuke.

I almost laugh out loud; he had the exact reaction I predicted. Instead I turn to him and fold my arms over my vest.

"Naruto, if you don't want Sasuke to train you, then you need to get better than him at observing your surroundings. Now, retrieve your canteens from the creek and get going, and I'll meet up with you later."

Naruto grumbles to himself and sprints into the trees, Sakura close on his heels. Sasuke pauses to give me one more long, searching look. I incline my head toward where the others have disappeared, and he too takes off into the trees.

I run back to where I had been standing by the creek, listening to the sounds of my team growing fainter as they make their way once more toward the border. I bite the thumb of my right hand, drawing blood. I form a few quick hand signs, and bring my right hand down on a small rock.

"Summoning jutsu," I say, and a puff of white smoke appears.

When it clears, Pakkun sits on the rock in front of me. He is a small dog with light brown fur except for his ears and snout, which are chocolate. His long ears hang down on either side of his rounded head. His right leg is wrapped with white bandages from elbow to wrist, and he wears a navy Hidden Leaf Village headband on his head. He is clothed in a sleeveless navy jacket with the smiling heno-heno-moheji symbol in white on the back.

"Kakashi, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asks in a deep, gruff voice. His heavy-lidded eyes appear half-closed, like mine, giving him a similar bored expression.

"Pakkun, I need you to sweep the area around this creek and search for any scents that aren't mine or my team's. Someone placed a genjutsu on me while I was here but Sasuke wasn't able to find them with his Sharingan," I tell him.

"I'm on it," Pakkun says. He immediately starts sniffing around the bank, gradually working his way out further into the forest.

I was wrong about my team being targeted for attack. Whoever cast the genjutsu must have been on a reconnaissance mission. My squad is clearly Genin, so they wanted to learn who I was which is why I alone was the target of the genjutsu.

"Hey, I think I have something," Pakkun calls from a cluster of bushes about twenty meters away.

I quickly make my way over and squat down by him.

"This scent is about 10 minutes old, and it's definitely not one of your team's. My guess is he's a Chuunin," he tells me.

"We need to find him fast. Lead the way, Pakkun," I say, straightening out of my squat.

"Right," he replies, jumping up onto a nearby branch and leaping to the next.

I follow a half pace behind him, the two of us bounding full speed through the trees.

"Are we expecting trouble when we catch up to him?" Pakkun asks in his gravely voice.

"Maybe," I reply, deep in thought. "My team and I are on a mission right now that could have serious implications for the Hidden Leaf Village. The odds that whoever we're tracking is somehow connected to the mission are very high, but at the same time he did not want confrontation. That's why he tried to discover my identity using genjutsu. He was also outnumbered four to one back at the clearing, but now I don't know what to expect when we find him."

"We're catching up quick," is all Pakkun replies but I can tell he's mulling over everything I said, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.

We race in silence from tree to tree for about 20 minutes before Pakkun signals me to stop. We drop to the ground, using some scraggly bushes for cover.

"Your guy is just ahead, about 50 meters. He appears to have stopped," Pakkun whispers.

I nod to him, and his heavy-lidded eyes meet mine.

"Good luck, Kakashi."

And with that, he disappears in a puff of white smoke.

I cautiously weave through the trees, not making even the slightest sound as I close the distance between us. I keep my pulse low and steady and my breathing even, not getting caught up in the excitement of the moment and not losing focus for an instant. I'm wary of any traps he may have had time to set, but I think it unlikely he even knew he was being followed. Still, every movement is calculated and precise.

I catch my first glimpse of him when I'm about 20 meters out. He's sitting at the base of a large oak tree, his head tilted back against the bark. He's facing partially away from me, and I can't get a good look at his face. He has short, spiky brown hair held back with a white sash on his head, and a loose-fitting tan shirt on. His shorts are dark brown, and he wears Shinobi sandals of the same color. His arms are both completely wrapped in white bandages down to his hands, and a utility pouch is strapped to the thigh of his right leg, which is propped up with his arm resting on top of his knee.

I silently jump up to the closest tree branch, and continue my approach from above. I pause in the tree adjacent to the one he is resting against and from a quick hand sign, producing a single shadow clone. The clone and I drop from the trees simultaneously. I land behind the tree he is sitting against, and my clone lands right in front of him.

He is young, maybe 16 years old with tan skin and an attractive face. A navy Hidden Sand Village headband is tied to his upper left arm, which had been previously hidden from my view. His hazel eyes widen when my clone drops in front of him, and he quickly scrambles to his feet, his hand right hand moving to his pouch.

"There's no need for that," I tell him calmly through my clone, folding my arms over my chest. "I just want to talk."

The sand ninja's eyes narrow, suspicious of me. His hand stays at his pouch.

"You're a pretty long way from home," I say, inclining my head toward his armband. "What business does a lone sand ninja have this far in the Land of Fire?" I ask, raising my eyebrow.

The ninja says nothing, his eyes shifting as he assesses the situation.

"Let's try an easier one then," I say patiently through my clone, maintaining my calm demeanor. "What's your name?"

"Sazuto," comes the hesitant reply. His voice is higher than I expected, almost feminine.

"Well Sazuto, why did you cast that genjutsu on me back there?" I ask, keeping my voice light and even.

He says nothing, but a defiant edge creeps into his eyes.

Talking is getting me nowhere. He didn't ask for my name in return, which means he already knows who I am. If that was the purpose of his mission, then he has nothing to gain by telling me any information. His only goal now is to get back to the Land of Wind and whoever sent him. He knows better than to try and fight his way out, which means he's planning his escape. I need to incapacitate him, I think from my position behind the tree.

"I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a hurry, so let's make this quick. You're going to tell me what your mission is and why you targeted me," I tell him through my clone.

Meanwhile, I form a quick flurry of hand signs behind the tree.

The defiance in Sazuto's eyes blazes, and he suddenly whips a kunai knife out of his pouch and hurls it with a sharp cry. It strikes my clone square in the chest, causing it to disappear in a puff of white smoke.

"No! It can't-" Sazuto exclaims, but before he can react I reach up from below ground and grab his leg.

"Earth style head-hunter jutsu," I bark as I pull him below ground. He immediately begins struggling, and I form another set of hand signs as I come to stand over him.

"Water style water bowl jutsu," I say. A pulsing ball of water forms in my right palm, and Sazuto's eyes grow wide. He stops struggling.

"Now then, what is your mission?" I growl, brandishing the ball of water toward his head.

"Ok, ok! My mission is to report on the squad the Hidden Leaf Village is sending to the Land of Wind," Sazuto says, his eyes never leaving my hand.

"Who sent you?" I ask a little less forcefully.

"I don't know who the client is, I swear!" Sazuto exclaims, fear still coloring his voice. "It's not an official mission," he adds.

I consider it for a moment.

"Well, I can't let you make your report, and I can't have you following my squad either. So you're going to have to stay here for a while," I tell him mildly.

I aim the water ball at the ground around him, and a torrent of water shoots from my palm. Sazuto turns his face away from the spraying water and dirt, closing his eyes, and after a few more seconds I stop to inspect my handiwork. Sazuto is now surrounded in a pool of mud, and he cautiously opens his eyes again.

"This mud is like quicksand, impossible to get out of. I wouldn't recommend trying to unbury yourself until it dries, or you'll just waste all of your energy," I tell him.

Sazuto's eyes flash first with indignation, but relief soon follows when he realizes I intend to leave. He says nothing as I turn away from him and leap back into the trees.

My thoughts race as I bound from branch to branch, trying to make sense of what Sazuto told me. His mission was done off the books, meaning whoever hired him either didn't have the permission of the Hidden Sand Village to carry it out, or the Hidden Sand Village didn't want the mission traced back to them. Which means that either the Land of Wind is a target of the plot the client says he has information about, or they're involved in it.

I weigh the possibilities, and decide that it must be the former. The Land of Wind and the Land of Fire are allies, with both countries prospering from our trade. The threat must be targeted at both of us.

As the afternoon wears on I maintain my speed and I catch up with my team well before sunset. I fall in behind them, Sakura and Sasuke immediately noticing while Naruto barrels on obliviously ahead. I motion for Sasuke and Sakura to keep my presence a secret, and Sakura asks Naruto a question.

"Okay Naruto, was that last tree you passed an oak or a pine?"

"It was a pine tree! That one was easy, Sakura," Naruto says, laughing. "That makes three! You guys can't train me anymore!" he exclaims, raising his fists in the air.

"Well done," I tell him.

Naruto startles so hard at the sound of my voice that he almost misses the next tree branch.

"Although your observation skills clearly still need work," I add.

"Kakashi Sensei! When did you get back?" Naruto exclaims, turning to face me.

"Only a moment ago. The three of you have made a fair bit of progress since I left, we should be in good shape when we make camp for the night," I tell them.

"What business did you have to take care of?" Sasuke asks, turning his head back toward me.

"I didn't want to alarm you at the time, but someone placed a genjutsu on me when I went to fill the canteens back at the clearing. They ran off after I released it, and I wanted to ask them a few questions," I tell them.

Naruto and Sakura turn toward me as well now, eyes wide, all three waiting for me to go on.

"It turns out there was just a little bit of a misunderstanding, and he won't be following us anymore," I say, tilting my head and smiling.

Naruto and Sakura look relieved, but Sasuke narrows his eyes, clearly not believing my story. I meet his gaze and hold it, challenging him. If you have something to say, go on ahead and say it, I think to myself. Sasuke drops his gaze finally, and turns back toward Naruto with a slight huff.

If there comes a time that you need to know, I'll tell you. I promise. The words come unbidden, an echo of our previous conversation. But that time isn't until knowing the true nature of our mission puts you in less danger than not knowing, I think darkly. I shake my head slightly, clearing my thoughts. I reflect on this most recent exchange with Sasuke, and realize I have mixed feelings about our standoff. On one hand I appreciate that he has enough trust in me to not push the issue, but on the other hand I wish he had acted on what his intuition was telling him. Not that I'm ready to reveal everything to the squad, but a good ninja knows when to put their intuition over their trust.

The rest of the afternoon passes smoothly into evening, and I go through a few more simple training exercises with my team as we travel. As the sun is preparing to make its plunge into the horizon and the trees are all bathed with orange light, I motion for them to stop in a small clearing.

"This is far enough for today," I tell them. "We're only about an hour away from the border with the Land of Rivers, and if all goes well we should be back in our own country by tomorrow night."

Naruto grins from ear to ear, all but bouncing in anticipation. "This is going to be so much fun!" he exclaims.

Sakura rolls her eyes, and Sasuke smirks. "Not if we have to keep training you, loser," Sasuke sneers, and Naruto's face turns red.

"Yeah? Well you just wait when I'm the Hokage I'll be the one training you! You'll see!" Naruto shouts. He begins setting up the tent in a huff.

I raise my eyebrows and shake my head, and get to building a fire. As the evening progresses the scattered clouds overhead turn from orange to pink to purple and finally fade into the night as darkness claims the land. The birdsong that had followed us through most of the day dies out and is replaced by the more furtive sounds of nocturnal creatures. A light wind whispers through the trees around our camp, and everyone relaxes by the fire with full stomachs.

I find myself suddenly wishing I could visit Rin, to tell her about the events of today and their possible implications. I stand up, breaking the amicable silence that had surrounded the camp.

"I'm going for quick walk, you three should be getting to bed soon. We have another early morning ahead of us," I tell them.

Sasuke stands up as well. "I'm coming too," he tells me. I hold his gaze for a moment, judging his expression, and I nod.

"I'll come with you Sasuke," Sakura says scrambling to get up.

"No," Sasuke tells her harshly. "Stay here with Naruto."

With a hurt expression, Sakura slowly sits back down.

I turn and walk into the trees, and Sasuke catches up to walk beside me.

Dappled silver moonlight kisses the trees and the ground, and as we walk I admire the simple beauty of the forest. After some time Sasuke pauses, and I turn to face him. His face is downturned, cast in shadow, and for a moment I almost see his brother Itachi's face in his features. But then Sasuke tilts his chin into the light and I see clearly the young Genin that I have been charged with training and protecting.

"You want to talk?" I ask him.

"I want to know what really happened with you and the ninja from earlier," Sasuke says bluntly, his eyes not leaving mine.

I sigh, folding my arms across my vest. "What do you want to know?" I ask him.

"Who was he?" Sasuke asks, keeping the same tone.

"A ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sand," I reply, keeping my tone casual.

"Why was he in the Land of Fire?" he asks a little more mildly.

"To do reconnaissance on any Hidden Leaf missions traveling to the Land of Wind," I tell him. Sasuke takes a moment to process the information.

"Do you think he's related to our mission?" He asks finally, with no trace of his former brusqueness.

I turn my face toward the moon, trying to find the right words.

"I don't know for sure," I say finally, turning back to face him. "It's certainly possible, but my main concern was making sure he wouldn't follow us any further. I don't think he'll cause us any more trouble."

Sasuke considers it all a moment, and lowers his head. "Thank you for telling me."

I don't reply, because once more I see his brother in his shadowed features. I failed Itachi, but I won't fail Sasuke.

"We should be getting back," I say, turning toward the camp.

We walk back in silence, each of us absorbed by our thoughts. Naruto and Sakura have already gone to sleep when we get back to the clearing, and we both soon join them.

I wake up about an hour before dawn, and see that my team is still sound asleep. I glance over them briefly, and step out of the tent. A light mist settled over the clearing in the night, and cheerful birdsong has already started drifting through the trees. After a quick breakfast I pull out my copy of Makeout Paradise and lean against a large oak tree, waiting for the rest of my squad to wake up.

Sasuke comes out first and settles across the clearing from me with his breakfast. Sakura follows not long after and sits down next to Sasuke. The two of them eat in silence and the sky to the East slowly starts to brighten. I reflect on how this may be the last peaceful moment we have for the next 24 hours, when the tent flap violently flies open.

"Why didn't anybody wake me?!" Naruto exclaims, shooting glares at us.

"We were enjoying the peace and quiet, you loudmouth!" Sakura shouts back at him.

Sasuke just rolls his eyes and Naruto, grumbling, sits down to eat his own breakfast.

The sun is just below the horizon when the camp is packed up and the three of them come to stand before me expectantly. I put away my book and look over them, seeing each brimming with anticipation.

They certainly look ready, I think to myself.

"Ok, when we reach the border with the Land of Rivers we will stick to the main road to avoid drawing suspicions. If I tell you to hide, you need to hide immediately. If I tell you to transform, you need to transform immediately. The success of this mission depends on your ability to remain undetected, and we cannot afford any mistakes. When we reach the Oashisu village I will go in alone to meet the client and retrieve the document. We should spend as little time in the Land of Wind as possible, and remain undetected until we get back into our own country. If all goes well we should be back in the Land of Fire by tomorrow night. Any questions?" I finish.

No one says anything for a moment, then Naruto steps forward, balling his fist and holding it out in front of him.

"We've got this mission in the bag, believe it!"

I smile a little despite myself, and turn toward the forest.

It's all or nothing now, I think grimly, but I quickly shake the thought.

"Squad seven, let's move out."

We travel at a brisk pace through the canopy as the sun slowly climbs above the trees, quickly closing the distance to the border. There is an excited silence between us, almost tense, each of us focusing our thoughts on the mission at hand.

After about an hour of travelling I spot a cleared path in the trees ahead that marks the road leading into the Land of Rivers. When we're about 50 meters away from the road I motion for my team to stop, and they alight on neighboring branches around me.

"The road is just ahead, and right now I don't sense anyone else around us. Stay alert, and let's get moving."

We drop down and walk over to the edge of the road, and after a quick glance in both directions I step out onto the tan dirt. Sasuke and Sakura fall into step with me on my left, and Naruto joins me on my right. The dirt of the road is packed hard and smooth by countless feet and wagon wheels, and the trees press in close on either side. We travel at a quick walking pace, relaxed enough to not burn energy but fast enough to make good progress. After a few minutes of walking, Sakura breaks the silence.

"Sensei, I have a question."

I glance over to her expectantly. "Yes?"

"Why wouldn't we take the shortest path to the Land of Wind like we did to the border here? Aren't we losing time by taking the road when we could travel quicker otherwise?"

"Well, technically we could save time by travelling off the road, but there's several reasons we're going this way," I reply mildly, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. "First off the road between the border with the Land of Fire and Oashisu village is relatively straight, so distance wise this isn't adding very many kilometers. Second off you're not familiar with this country, and the terrain can get treacherous off the road. And lastly, you three aren't quiet enough to travel at full pace and remain undetected by other Shinobi."

I notice Sasuke bristling with indignation at that last comment, and Naruto turns to me, steaming.

"Of course we're quiet enough! We could travel anywhere and not be heard!" Naruto practically shouts.

I turn toward him, cocking my uncovered eyebrow. "My point exactly."

Naruto mutters under his breath, crossing his arms across his orange jumpsuit and pouting.

Just then I catch the faintest smell of perfume on the wind, and I hear footsteps on the road up around the bend.

"Find cover, quickly," I call sharply to my team.

Sasuke and I both jump up onto neighboring branches of the closest oak tree to the left of the road, positioning ourselves behind the large trunk. Sakura jumps behind a cluster of bushes on the other side of the road, and Naruto freezes momentarily, his head waving from side to side as he searches for a hiding place. Sakura reappears from behind the bush and grabs Naruto's arm, dragging him down into cover with her.

"Get down," she growls at him.

Two travellers round the bend, their straw hats low on their heads and their beige shirts flapping around mid-thigh shorts in the light breeze. One of them leans with a slight limp on a walking stick, but both have strong, lean muscles sliding under their shirts. They travel in amiable silence; unaware of the ninja they are passing on either side. When they have passed out of sight around the next turn and moved far enough away, I jump down from the trees onto the road, Sasuke right behind me. Sakura and Naruto both stand up from behind the bushes, and Naruto puts his arms up behind his head, smiling.

"Boy we really fooled them, huh?" he laughs to himself.

Sakura brings her fist down with as much force as she can muster on top of his head, and Naruto yelps in pain, ducking down and holding his head.

"No thanks to you, you moron! You almost blew it!" she snarls at him.

"If you're going to be such a loser, at least try not to ruin the mission," Sasuke chimes in, looking over Naruto with contempt.

Naruto jumps up, getting in Sasuke's face. "You wanna say that again?" he shouts, eyes narrowed in rage.

"Enough!" I bark.

Naruto makes a face and turns away from Sasuke, his arms folding across his chest.

"We're wasting time here, and all three of you are acting like untrained academy students," I tell them sharply.

Naruto and Sakura lower their heads, abashed, and Sasuke scowls at the trees off to the side.

"Now then, let's get moving," I tell them a little more gently.

Naruto juts his head up in determination.

"I'll be the first one to take cover next time! Believe it!"

He starts off down the road, and I see Sasuke and Sakura shoot each other wary glances. I follow after Naruto, and the two of them fall into step beside me.

Silence reclaims the squad as we travel, the anticipation growing with every kilometer. Every so often Sakura asks me a question about the Land of Rivers or the Land of Wind, or Naruto makes the occasional comment about our surroundings, but the conversation always dies back into a charged silence.

Several times the dirt road gives way to bridges that stretch over the great rivers that cut through the terrain, and each time I cross first and make sure the road ahead is clear before signaling the others to follow. The number of travelers on the road increases as we approach the western border, but the squad manages to hide and remain undetected each time someone passes. I direct them off the road mid-morning, and we follow a rocky creek bed sprinkled with willow trees to break for lunch out of sight of the road.

Sakura sits at the base of a nearby willow trunk and pulls out a rice ball. Long, streaming leaves rustle softly in the breeze around her. Naruto joins her, perching on the roots spreading out along the rocky soil. He starts unpacking his wide assortment of treats and snacks, and Sakura just shakes her head. Sasuke finds a large rock by the creek bed, and pensively starts eating his own rice ball. The uneasy silence that has been hanging over the squad for most of the morning is present, and looking at each of them I can almost sense why.

Sasuke is determined, focusing on executing the mission while simultaneously trying to determine its deeper meaning. Sakura is anxious; she is worried about the possibility of failure but is more worried that her actions would be the cause of it. Naruto is excited, but the tension hanging in the air is keeping it at bay, making him uncharacteristically quiet.

We're all expecting something, but I'm not yet sure what, I think as I regard the three of them. I shake my head slightly, trying to clear the sense of foreboding that has been nagging at me all morning. After they've finished eating we pack up and head back to the road, making sure the way is clear before heading west once again.

"Sensei, I have another question," Sakura begins.

I look glance over at her and she hesitates, uncertainty etched in her features.

"If the Hidden Sand Village has a document for us, why didn't they just send it with an envoy?" she asks slowly, peering up at me.

Naruto frowns, clearly wondering this for the first time himself as Sasuke turns slightly, his face intent, waiting to hear my answer.

Well done, Sakura. You're starting to think like a true Shinobi, I think as I ponder how to respond. I need to satisfy their curiosity without opening the door for more questions. The last thing they need is to be distracted right now.

"There's a few possibilities I've considered," I begin, choosing my words carefully. "One is that the mission was rejected by the Hidden Sand Village, and the client turned to us instead. This is probably not the case as the village currently has more than enough Shinobi to accept new missions. Another is that the document contains information the Hidden Sand Village would rather keep to themselves. This also isn't probable because that would put the mission above C-rank, and a Chuunin squad would have been chosen to handle it. The most likely is that the client is not from the Land of Wind, so the document isn't actually coming from them. But the reason doesn't matter now, only that we focus on completing the mission successfully."

Sakura and Naruto appear satisfied, and even Sasuke seems placated by my answer. We continue down the road, the silence around us slightly lighter.

When we're less than ten minutes from the border, I once again direct the squad off the road and into the surrounding countryside. We circumvent a large, stony hill dotted with oak trees and I see a small clearing up ahead. I lead my team into the center, then turn to face them.

"As I told you previously, I will be going into Oashisu village alone to collect the document from the client. If all goes well I will meet you back here in three hours. If I am not back in three hours I want you to return to the Hidden Leaf Village as quickly as possible - stay to the trees along the road and follow it back to the Land of Fire, then go directly to the village. Find the Hokage and tell him that I missed the rendezvous time, and he'll know what to do."

Their faces grow more and more sober as I speak, the implications of what I'm telling them setting in. I smile at them under my facemask, trying to project a calm reassurance I'm not feeling myself as I set down my pack.

"But don't worry, I'll be back in three hours. Stay in this clearing, and if any other Shinobi happen to see you just tell them you are on official Hidden Leaf Village business and they can either move along or wait to discuss it with me. Any questions?"

"Why can't we come with you, Sensei?" Naruto asks, his lips pouty.

"First, Oashisu is a large village with many distractions, and you are much more likely to be noticed. Second, I can travel faster alone. Third, because I told you so," I finish, and Naruto sulks.

I look to Sasuke and Sakura, and see the resolve on their faces.

"I'll be back in three hours," I tell them, and then I leap straight up into the trees, bounding from branch to branch quickly, silently.

The landscape passes by in a blur as I travel, my thoughts on the meeting with the client. The mission details said the client is at a small inn on the edge of the village, and to meet him in the restaurant. When I get there I am to order a bottle of the house sake, and wait. The subterfuge would almost be comical, if the document wasn't of such importance. I wonder, not for the first time, why the client would want the details concerning this plot to go to the Hokage specifically if it could bring about a fourth Shinobi war. Surely the Hidden Village leaders of the other four great countries should be warned as well.

That's not for me to decide, I think, remembering the final condition of this mission. If the document cannot be returned to the Hokage, it is to be destroyed. The stakes couldn't be higher.

I keep up a decent pace, and the trees grow more and more sparse and eventually give way to sandy, windswept hills covered in scraggly shrubs. I drop to the sandy ground and press on, senses on high alert for anyone that may be nearby. I use the hills for cover, and thankfully encounter no one before coming up to the edge of the village.

Oashisu village is nestled in a small, valley-like bowl. The wind stirs up sand and dust around it, making the village take on a hazy, dream-like quality from a distance. Tan sandstone buildings with worn signs hug the streets, which are mostly empty in the mid-afternoon heat.

I keep to the edge of the village, passing between buildings when no one is looking and staying to the shadows and alleys. I eventually come up to a small inn, and recognize it as the one I am to meet the client in. I slip inside the door and a bell jingles cheerily. The restaurant opens up to my left, and I immediately grab a table in the corner of the room facing the door. The restaurant is mostly empty except for a young couple a few tables away from me, two lone men sitting at the bar with their backs to the dining room, and a table in the opposite corner from me where three men sit, their faces obscured by the hoods of their purple cloaks. I eye their table warily, and a server comes over.

"What can I get you?" The server asks, his voice gruff but not unpleasant.

"I'll take an order of sand dumplings, and a bottle of your house sake," I tell him.

The server frowns.

"We don't have a house sake here, but I can get you a local one," he says, studying me.

I notice one of the hooded men across the room turn slightly toward us.

"That's ok, I'll just have the dumplings," I tell the server absently, most of my focus on that other table.

"You're a long way from home," he comments, and I turn my full attention to him. I take a couple bills out of my pocket, and discretely press them into his hand.

"Yes, but I don't believe I ever came here," I tell him quietly, pointedly.

The man considers me for a moment, and then pockets the money, smiling.

"I'll be back with the dumplings."

I watch him go back into the kitchen, and then I regard the hooded men at the other table. They are speaking in hushed tones, and the dim light of the room obscures most of their features not hidden by the hoods. A growing sense of unease makes my heart rate start to climb, but I quickly calm myself.

After several minutes the server comes back with a steaming plate of dumplings and sets them down in front of me. The aroma they give off is mouthwatering, but eating is the furthest thing from my mind.

Something isn't right. I spoke the code phrase when I first arrived and the client has still not presented himself. Either he is still observing me, or he is compromised. And those men…

I stiffen when the quickest metallic reflection winks in the hazy light under one of their hoods. A reflection like that would only come from a Shinobi headband. This is not good. I stand, laying a couple bills down on the table and walking swiftly toward the door. Behind me, the three men stand up as well.

I can lose them easier in the village, but I will definitely draw attention to myself. I can only guess why the client wanted my presence here to be a secret, but I have to assume that it's still important. I'll have to lose them in the countryside then. I don't know who these ninja are or where they're from, but even with my Sharingan it would be suicide to try and take on all three at once.

I pause for only a moment after stepping through the door, making sure the street is clear, and I sprint toward the surrounding hills. I hear the door slam open behind me, and I try to recall everything I can of the surrounding landscape.

I'm much too exposed out here in the desert, I'll have an easier time shaking them in the forest, I think, and I adjust my course east toward the Land of Rivers. There's a small waterfall just before the border, and enough tree cover around that I should be able to get away.

I continue full-speed toward the waterfall for the better part of an hour, my pursuers keeping up but not gaining on me. Each minute drags on for eternity, but the kilometers fly by. The sandy ground turns firm, the soil becoming more dense and stony. I pass one tree, and then another, and I leap up into the third, pushing off a thick branch and continuing my sprint from above. I hear three sets of feet alight on the same branch, about twenty meters behind me. I sense motion approaching, and I dodge to the side just as a kunai knife slices by. I can hear the low roar of the waterfall up ahead and I press forward, trying to put on as much speed as I can. Time to brush up on endurance training, I think bleakly, knowing that if this chase goes on for much longer I will have to slow my pace. To take my mind off my sore muscles and burning lungs I begin to form a plan of escape, realizing that in order to shake my pursuers I will have to hide quickly and effectively.

I approach the top of the falls, scanning ahead as much as I can for a place to execute my plan. The waterfall is about thirty meters tall, the silver river cascading merrily down the rocks before continuing its swift travels below. A tree bends over the far side of the river just before the falls, and I pull one of my own kunai knives from my leg pouch and quickly tie the end of my utility wire through its handle. This has to be timed perfectly, I think to myself. They can't see me throw the knife, but they have to see me go over the falls.

I slow slightly, allowing my pursuers to gain a little ground, just as I drop to the near bank of the river. I throw my kunai, and it wraps perfectly around a low branch of the tree on the other side. Gripping the wire in my other hand, I glance back at the tree line just in time to see the three hooded ninja dropping onto the bank. Deciding I don't have time to gain their identities, I run to the edge of the rocky bank and jump from the top of the falls, dropping several meters and arcing through the water before jerking to a stop on the other side of the waterfall, the wire biting into my gloved hand. Despite the roar of the water, I almost think I hear a surprised cry from above. I spot a small ledge behind the falls and I push myself along the rocks over to it, untangling my hand from the wire and dropping down behind the cascading water.

I take off my green flak jacket vest and drop it into the falls, where it quickly disappears from sight below. It's buoyant enough that it should float to the surface of the river downstream, and hopefully throw the other ninja off my trail. And now we wait, I think. I remain vigilant, keeping watch on the banks and surrounding forest I can see from around the falls. A half-hour passes, then an hour, and I decide that it should be safe to come out.

Meanwhile, squad seven waits anxiously in the clearing in the Land of Rivers. Sasuke sits with his back against a tree, his knees propping up his elbows and his fingers tented against his chin. Sakura leans against another tree, her fingers absently tangling in and out of the ends of her long, pink hair as she stares into the forest. Naruto paces restlessly back and forth across the clearing.

"What's taking him so long? He's been gone forever!" He exclaims.

"Calm down Naruto, it hasn't been three hours yet," Sakura admonishes, but her eyes never leave the forest.

"Well I say we go after him. Why does he get to go have all the fun and leave us here? This is our mission too!" Naruto adds, his fists clenching at his sides as he paces.

As Naruto continues to rant, Sasuke looks up suddenly. He glances to the trees on either side of him, his dark eyes scanning intently.

"Naruto, be quiet!" Sasuke growls. He's standing now, knees slightly bent and arms out defensively.

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Naruto fires back at him. He prepares to say more, but Sakura cuts in.

"Zip it Naruto! Listen."

Naruto pauses and looks from Sasuke to Sakura, who has also taken a defensive stance.

"What do you hear, Sasuke?" Sakura asks softly.

Sasuke doesn't respond. His eyes continue to sweep back and forth through the forest. Just as Naurto's mouth opens to make a comment, Sasuke stiffens.

"Sakura, Naruto, move!" He yells.

He and Sakura leap away from the trees toward the center of the clearing, and Naruto ducks haphazardly as shuriken cut through the air. Three embed themselves in each of the tree trunks Sasuke and Sakura had been standing by, and three more narrowly miss Naruto.

"Manji Formation!" Sasuke barks. Sakura and Naruto position themselves around him in a tight triangle, their backs to the center as each evaluates the forest around them. All three hold kunai knives at the ready.

A deep laugh floats out of the trees, seeming to emanate from all around.

"Well, well. You little leaf Genin are far from home, aren't you. Did we get lost?" The voice asks tauntingly. "Where's your leader, Kakashi?"

"Why don't you show yourself and find out," Sasuke replies sharply.

"Yeah, we're not afraid of you!" Naruto yells at the trees.

The gravelly voice laughs again. "That's your first mistake."

Sasuke closes his eyes briefly, and when he opens them his dark irises have been replaced with the Sharingan. Sakura raises her kunai knife, the handle in her closed fist facing her and the point angled toward the trees. Naruto's fist, the one not holding his own kunai, clenches at his side.

Sasuke snaps his head to the left, his blood-red eyes widening. "Sakura, look out!"
Sakura snaps her kunai up just in time to block the needle-like missile that had been slicing upwards toward her neck. She deftly deflects another, but a third grazes her upper arm. She recoils with a small cry, and a thin line of blood forms on her pale skin. She turns to Sasuke, confusion etched in her features.

Laughter once again echoes around them.

"It was…stone," Sasuke says, nonplussed.

Before she can respond, Sasuke jerks his head up. Lightning-fast, he grabs three shuriken from his leg pouch and hurls them in front of him, where each collide mid-air with a needle-like shard of rock.

"Enough of this!" Naruto yells. He steps forward, his hands coming together to form a sign in front of him. "Shadow clone jutsu!"

A puff of white smoke clears to reveal five Narutos where only one stood before. They simultaneously raise kunai knives, and smirk toward the forest.

"We're coming for you!" They yell in unison.

"Naruto, wait!" Sasuke begins, but they are already running toward the edge of the clearing.

Before they can reach the tree line the four clones disappear one by one in a puff of white smoke, and the real Naruto yelps in pain as a tear appears across his pant leg. He staggers back a step, but Sasuke is already running past him, Sakura close behind.

"I saw him!" Sasuke exclaims. He pauses by the trees and forms a quick flurry of hand signs.

"Fire style fireball jutsu!"

A giant ball of flame shoots from Sasuke's mouth for several seconds, engulfing the forest in a burning blaze. When he releases it the now blackened tree trunks smolder, but there is no one to be found.

A faint grating sound from behind makes all three of them spin around, and in the middle of the clearing stands a lone Shinobi.

He stands tall, arms folded across his muscular chest. He wears loose, brown pants, and the sleeves of his tight, black shirt are cut off. Two tan belts holding multiple pouches cross his chest, and his palms wrists, and ankles are bandaged. His pale face is short and angular with dark eyes and narrow eyebrows. A scar curves from his right temple across his cheekbone, tapering just before his thin lips. His dark brown hair is cropped short, and across his forehead is a maroon Shinobi headband bearing the Hidden Stone Village symbol. The stony soil around him is slightly disturbed, as if it had just recently been dug up.

"I must say I'm disappointed. I was expecting to face the great Copy Cat Ninja, but instead I find three meager Genin. It's not even worth my time to kill you," the ninja taunts, eyeing them with contempt.

Before Sasuke or Sakura can stop him, Naruto steps forward, raising a clenched fist in front of him.

"Well you're talking to the ninja who is going to be the next Hokage, so you better show some respect!" Naruto yells.

"Be quiet, Naruto!" Sakura whispers fiercely.

The Shinobi only laughs.

"You, the next Hokage? That's adorable," he sneers.

"What's your story then?" Sasuke demands, lifting his chin and staring him down. "Why are you after Kakashi?"

"My employers want him out of the way. They have big plans for your little hidden village," he says mockingly. "It's too bad you won't be able to complete your mission."

"Employers? He's a rogue ninja!" Sakura exclaims.

"Oh yeah? Well you're no match for the three of us, believe it!" Naruto exclaims boldly, smirking.

"Naruto!" Sasuke hisses at him with clenched teeth.

The ninja pauses and regards the three of them coolly.

"It seems you punks need to be taught a lesson. Perhaps I will kill you," he growls, uncrossing his arms and forming a series of quick hand signs.

"Earth style pebble barrage!"

On either side of the ninja a hundred small pebbles rise into the air, and hurl themselves at the squad. Using their kunai knives all three block the projectiles easily, stones the size of grapes deflecting around them. After fending off the last of the attack, however, the three of them look up to see that clearing stands empty. There is no trace of the rogue ninja.

"He's gone!" Naruto exclaims.

Sasuke scans the clearing, his Sharingan eyes capturing every detail. "He won't have gone far. More than likely, he's preparing for another attack. Wait…"

His blood-red eyes widen in realization.

"The ground in the clearing, it's the only way! It's how he escaped the fireball jutsu!"

"Huh?" Naruto turns toward him. Sakura also gives him a questioning glance.

"He's below us! Get in the trees, now!" Sasuke exclaims.

The three of them leap up into the canopy just as a flurry of stone needles shoots from the ground at where they had been standing only a moment ago.

The rogue ninja emerges from the ground with the same faint grinding sound they heard before. Sasuke and Sakura peer at him around either side of a large oak trunk, and Naruto pokes his head over a fork in the neighboring tree.

The Shinobi folds his arms back over his chest, slowly surveying the trees.

"Why don't you make this easy on yourselves and come out. I promise to kill you quickly," he sneers, walking back to the center of the clearing.

Sasuke pulls three shuriken from his leg pouch, and looks over to Naruto. Naruto grins, and forms a single hand sign.

Twenty Narutos appear in the branches, and they spread out through the trees around the clearing. With a battle cry they all drop down simultaneously, charging the rogue ninja.

The ninja forms several hand signs, and brings his hands down on the earth in front of him.

"Earth style stone sword jutsu!"

He pulls a sword formed from rock from the ground just as the first of the shadow clones reach him. He slashes back and forth furiously but gracefully, easily cutting down the clones. They disappear one by one in puffs of white smoke.

Sasuke edges from branch to branch, positioning himself behind the rogue ninja. When the ninja is distracted with three clones in front of him, Sasuke unleashes the shuriken. They slice through the air, quickly closing in on the Shinobi. He senses them at the last second, however, leaping up and over the Naruto clones while slashing at them with the stone sword. Two of the Narutos disappear in puffs of white smoke while the real Naruto staggers backward, his hand coming up to cradle his arm. Sasuke smirks and tightens his grip on the wire strings in his hand, redirecting the shuriken tethered to them and guiding their path. They strike home, embedding deep in the ninja's side as he begins to advance on Naruto.

"No!" Sasuke yells, his red eyes widening. "When did he-?"

Before he can finish, the ninja's flesh warps, turning into earth that disintegrates into a shower of clay and stone.

"It was a clone!" Sakura cries in disbelief from her position in the trees. She and Sasuke share a glance, and Naruto leaps back into the canopy between him, rubbing his bruised arm.

"Darn! I thought we got him!" Naruto exclaims.

The ninja's deep laugh radiates from below, and once again he emerges from the ground below.

"Now it's my turn," he growls, dark eyes blazing as he slams his hands down on the ground in front of him.

"Earth style splitting earth force!"

A deep, tumultuous rumble builds, and the ground in the clearing begins to crack and split into a shallow rift. The rift widens, quickly engulfing the trees at the edge of the clearing and sending them toppling to the ground.

Sakura is jolted from the branch she had been standing on and with a cry she falls to the ground, landing hard. Sasuke and Naruto are likewise thrown to the ground. Before they can get up the rogue ninja forms another flurry of hand signs.

"Earth style earthen flower jutsu," he barks.

Stone flowers emerge from the ground all around them, their blooms opening and clamping around each leg. Squad seven staggers to their feet, unable to move further with their stone tethers. Sakura appears terrified, her emerald green eyes big and wide. Sasuke's brow is furrowed, his Sharingan eyes searching for a way out. Naruto lips are pulled back from his teeth in a silent snarl of defiance.

"Did you three really think you were a match for me?" The rogue ninja taunts, slowly walking toward them. His eyes, regarding them in their bindings, are cold and merciless.

"Three little Genin punks trying to play ninja. You have no idea what it really means to be a Shinobi. You are weak. You have failed your mission and your village, and now you will die."

Before he can say more, three ninja in hooded purple cloaks drop down into the clearing behind him.

"Omari, let's go," one of them speaks.

The rogue ninja turns toward them slightly, annoyance written in his features.

"Can you give me a minute? I have some garbage to dispose of," he growls back.

"Kakashi Hatake is dead and our boss is waiting on an update. Let them go, we need to move," the hooded ninja replies.

A small gasp escapes Sakura, and Sasuke and Naruto's mouths fall open in shock.

Omari turns back to the squad, eyeing them with contempt.

"It looks like it's your lucky day, punks," he spits. The stone flowers binding their legs disintegrate into rubble.

"The next time we meet, things aren't going to end as well for you."

Before Sakura or Sasuke can stop him, Naruto steps forward.

"The next time we meet, we'll be ready. Believe it!"

With one last grunt of disgust, Omari and the three hooded ninja leap back into the trees, disappearing into the forest.

"Do you think it's true?" Sakura asks tearfully, her eyes searching Naruto's and Sasuke's – which have reverted to their normal form.

"Do you think Kakashi Sensei is really dead?"

"It doesn't matter now," Sasuke says gruffly. Naruto turns toward him.

"How can you even say that, after everything he's done for us?" Naruto shouts, balling his fists and glowering at Sasuke.

Sasuke closes his eyes briefly, a mixture of emotions coloring his expression.

"What I meant is that we still have to finish the mission. Kakashi told us that if he is not back in three hours to return to the Hokage as quickly as possible and tell him what happened. Whether he is dead or not, we have to get moving."

"You're right, the Hokage will know what to do," Sakura says.

"We'll be back in the Land of Fire tonight but we shouldn't stop unless absolutely necessary, agreed?" Sasuke asks.

Sakura and Naruto nod in agreement.

"Let's go."

I propel myself from the ledge behind the waterfall, alighting precariously on a branch hanging over the falls for a moment before dropping to the bank below. There are no signs of my pursuers, but I don't let my guard down as I carefully survey my surroundings.

That certainly could have been worse, I think with a measure of relief. By now the team should be on their way back the Land of Fire. I start back toward the clearing where I left them, hoping they followed my instructions. As I leap from tree to tree, the events of the past few hours and their implications weigh on my mind. I try to keep the thoughts at bay; there will be plenty of time for speculation back in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Shock and dread fill me when I reach the clearing. I stay in the trees, silent and motionless as I take in the scene before me. Half of the ground in the clearing is churned up as if by some great beast, a wide rift slicing though the middle. Further, there are a dozen trees knocked down or lying haphazardly on their neighbors. After ensuring I am alone, I drop to the ground to investigate further with a growing sense of alarm. Two of the trees near me have shuriken buried in their trunks, and a small patch of the forest is blackened as if there was an explosion. No, I think, my eyes widening with realization. A fireball.

I quickly bite my thumb, drawing blood and forming the necessary hand signs.

"Summoning jutsu!"

Pakkun appears before me in a puff of white smoke. He cocks a brown, furry eyebrow and tilts his head slightly.

"Twice in two days? This better be important, Kakashi. I was-" he trails off as he sees my expression. "What is it?"

"My squad was here. There was a battle while I was away, and I need to know if they escaped," I tell him urgently.

"On it," Pakkun says, immediately putting his nose to the ground.

I pace as he searches, trying not to let my worries cloud my focus.

"Who else was here?" I ask him.

"There were three Chuunin here and a Jonin. The Chuunin were only here briefly - I believe your squad was battling the Jonin," Pakkun says evenly, but I can detect the concern in his voice.

I close my eyes, pausing to push down a new wave of dread. I'll protect you with my life, the hollow words echo in my brain.

"And my team?" I finally ask, eyes still closed.

"They're not here, that's for certain," Pakkun says, and I open my eyes. "The most fresh scent I can find of them is about thirty minutes old. I don't think they left with the others, either," he adds.

The cascade of relief that washes over me almost takes me off my feet. They're not here and they haven't been captured. Somehow they were able to get away, which means they're heading back to the Hidden Leaf Village.

"They took off going East," Pakkun calls, confirming my thoughts.

I walk over to him and he meets my gaze, relief present in his heavy-lidded eyes.

Wordlessly we leap back into the canopy, running full-speed to catch up with my team. Pakkun tracks them, occasionally correcting our course as we travel. The afternoon slips into evening, and the sun has just set when we cross the border back into the Land of Fire.

"I assume this is all part of the same mission," Pakkun finally remarks. The pink and orange light is fading from the forest, giving way to the purples and blues of dusk. We had been travelling in silence up until then, our singular focus catching up to the squad.

"Yes," I reply, the words heavy on my lips. "The ninja you helped me track yesterday was from the Hidden Sand Village, sent to spy on any missions coming from the Hidden Leaf Village into the Land of Wind. His mission was done off the books, and I thought I was able to keep him preoccupied long enough to get a good head start but his employer still got word of us. I was ambushed where I was supposed to meet the client and managed to shake my pursuers, which I believe may be the three Chuunin you detected in the clearing. I left the squad in the clearing with the instructions to return to the Hidden Leaf Village if I was not back in three hours. The document it was our mission to retrieve has been lost."

"It sounds like there is much more at play here than meets the eye. This may be the best outcome there could have been," Pakkun comments.

I consider his words, thinking of the unknown Jonin from the clearing and the devastation left behind.

"You may be right."

We travel once more in silence, darkness solidifying its hold on the forest until Pakkun finally points forward.

"Your squad is about a hundred meters ahead," he says in his gruff voice.

I turn to him, words of gratitude forming on my lips but I see he already knows what I'm about to say.

"Take care, Kakashi."

With a puff of white smoke, he disappears.

I continue on, quickly closing the rest of the distance to my squad. Naruto is in the lead, as usual, with Sasuke and Sakura a pace behind. When I alight on the branch behind them they all turn, even Naruto, and I motion them to stop.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Sakura and Naruto exclaim in unison, wide smiles breaking out. Even Sasuke has a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Sorry I'm late, I seem to have misplaced my watch," I tell them, putting an arm up behind my head and smiling.

Naruto and Sakura groan.

"What really happened? Did you get the document?" Naruto asks.

"Let's set up camp, and I'll tell you everything," I tell them, but I see the looks on their faces, and I understand. After this mission, I'm ready to be home myself.

"Unless you would prefer to continue straight home," I add.

After a few glances at each other, they nod. I incline my head, and one again we begin traveling through the trees.

"Before I tell you about the mission, what happened in the clearing?" I ask, eager to hear their story.

"It was a rogue ninja from the Hidden Stone Village! His name is Omari, he said his employers sent him to face you, and he knew about the mission!" Naruto exclaims.

"Omari Heikin, I know of him. He's a Jonin from the Hidden Stone Village, a ruthless ninja for hire that takes on whatever jobs come his way," I tell them. Another piece of the puzzle, I think to myself.

"He wasn't going to fight us, but Naruto had to open his big mouth," Sakura adds, shooting Naruto a glare.

Why am I not surprised, I think, shaking my head.

Naruto and Sasuke take turns filling me in on the details of the battle, and I listen with a growing sense of wonder.

Not only did they escape their battle with Omari, they held their own. He would have killed them if those hooded Chuunin hadn't arrived, but still…I feel pride sweep through me as I look at them, and I realize exactly how much each of them has grown.

"So what about you, Sensei? What happened in the village?" Naruto asks, bringing my attention back.

"Let me start at the beginning," I begin. I tell them about receiving the mission from the Hokage, and the real nature of the document we were supposed to obtain. I tell them about the ninja I tracked down the day before and his potential connection, and I tell them about the ambush I faced in the village.

"Whoever is behind this wanted to prevent us from receiving the document at any cost. It's possible the client was compromised well before we left the Land of Fire," I finish. We continue in silence, each of them absorbing and processing the information I have given them.

"So we've failed," Sasuke says flatly.

"We did not secure the document, but this was far from a failure," I respond firmly, and all three turn to look at me.

"You three traveled undetected through an unfamiliar country, fought a rogue Jonin and lived to tell about it, and managed to uncover his identity in the process. We don't have the document, but you have gained so much more. I'm proud of you."

Sakura and Naruto share a delighted smile, and Sasuke turns back forward, his face pensive. We continue through the night and into the morning, stopping only as necessary until we reach the main road into the village. The squad, visibly tired now, perks up as they travel the last few kilometers home.

Once inside the village gates they turn to face me, and once again I'm filled with pride as I look over them.

"Take the rest of today and tomorrow off, you deserve it. We'll meet back at the training grounds in two days," I tell them.

They nod and, after sharing one last glance between them, go their separate ways. I watch them for a moment, and then I start toward the great Hokage Monument. I find the Hokage on the platform, and I join him. He puffs contemplatively on his pipe, and I wait for him to speak.

"Was your mission a success?" he asks, his gravelly voice sounding especially old today.

"The document was lost. I believe the mission may have been doomed from the start," I tell him.

He lowers his head, sighing deeply for a moment. I continue, telling him all of the details from the last two days and my own speculations. The Hokage listens without interrupting, the lines of his face growing deeper as I talk.

"You and your squad have done well, under the circumstances," he says finally. "If there really is a scheme to start a fourth Shinobi war, the conspirators are powerful enough to keep it covered. There may be no way to avoid conflict, but we can be prepared for it."

The Hokage draws from his pipe before continuing.

"The Chuunin exams are coming up soon. Do you believe your squad is ready?" he asks.

I consider his question seriously. I think about their strengths, their shortcomings, and the progress they have made as a team. I think about their battles with Haku and Zabuza, and this most recent one with Omari. They are ready.

"I do," I reply confidently.

"Good," the Hokage replies. "Take some time to rest, and continue with their training. If any more information presents itself regarding this plot, I will let you know."

"Thank you," I tell him, and I leap from the platform. I let my feet guide me, my mind swirling, and I find myself back in front of the Memorial Stone. I find his name, and let the regret and guilt wash over me. But another feeling is emerging, growing and spreading until it's all I can feel. I think about the Hokage's words, and a single thought settles in my mind.

We will be ready.