Team 7's Super-Awesome Surprise S-Class Operation
"Beep-beep-beep!"
"NANDA- Oh…"
Naruto squinted at the alarm clock opposite his bed. The time was 6:15 AM. His squad, Team 7, had been assigned to a sudden B-Class mission the night before, by the Third Hokage. This was rather unusual, as B classes were usually carried out by experienced chuunin-ranked ninja and sometimes Jounin, and Team 7 only consisted of the three Genin shinobi: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and of course, Naruto Uzumaki. However, many of the higher-ranks were occupied with a large-scale invasion of a huge bandit-camp bordering Otogakure. Many other shinobi protested against Team 7's assignment, due to their lack of skill and real-life battle experience. After all, it had only been a couple of months since they had been promoted to Genin in the first place. At last, Kakashi Hatake, Team 7's Jounin, managed to convince Lord Hokage that his students were up-for-the-job as long as he accompanied them.
Naruto sat up in his bed and yawned. He sat in the same, half-awake position before the droning-alarm turned itself off and he had the sudden realisation that that day held his highest-ranked mission so far in his career. His eyes widened and the blond-haired Genin jumped out of bed and began to prepare.
Naruto donned his orange-blue, collared jumpsuit that he was renowned for, and grabbed his newly-prepared Shinobi-equipment bag that he received from the higher-ranks.
"What should I pack…?" Naru-kun pondered. Other than his five newly polished kunai knives and basic necessities, there was still room for more. Naruto looked around his room before grinning as he threw a couple of limited-edition pork-miso ramen cups into the bag. At last, he zipped up the backpack and made his way outside.
Naru-kun was just locking his door when he heard a familiar, yet hostile voice from behind:
"Hey, Naru-teme. You done? We need to meet with Kakashi-san and Sakura-chan before 7. You better not make us late again."
Naruto sighed. "Sasuke-teme... I just had to go and meet you just as I'm leaving the door, didn't I. Must be a bad omen."
Naruto and Sasuke were always fighting. You see, Sasuke thought Naruto as his eternal-rival in being a powerful shinobi, while Naruto simply saw Sasuke as a dangerous competitor for the love of Sakura Haruno, their squad mate. Despite the almost-constant disputes, the rivals both knew deep-down that they couldn't live without one another. They both relied on the others rivalled skills and expectations, to excel and get stronger as a Shinobi. Naruto always valued this bond more than Sasuke, who always refused to acknowledge it.
The two squadmates glared at each other before making a subliminal dash to the meeting point, the old red bridge that overlooked the residential area of Konohagakure. On arrival, Naruto noticed that the half-asleep Sakura had already made it there, and dozed off in the process of waiting for the others. She leaned with her back against the wood railing of the bridge, arms crossed and head hunched. She had clearly been sleeping for a while.
"Sakuuura-chaaan…!" Naruto whispered in her ear. No answer came but a quiet snore. He gave her a playful prod to the cheek and sniggered. Sakura-chan was abruptly woken by the sound of Naruto giggling a few feet away from her.
"Grrrrrrr… NARUTO, WHAT DID YOU DO AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN STANDING THERE?!"
Naruto jumped back in surprise and landed on Sasuke.
"NANI- G-GET OFF ME YOU B-BAKA!"
"SHUT UP SASUKE-TEME, DATTEBAYO! WHEN KAKASHI-SENSEI FINALLY GETS HERE, HE'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"
Just as Sasuke threw the final punch, a familiar voice was heard from above. The spiky-white haired Jounin cleared his throat and grinned. "Sorry I'm late. I got lost on the path of life again", he declared, while perched precariously on his usual entry point, the top of the red gate on the bridge. "I hope you three are all packed and ready", He mumbled while scanning through a document of some kind. "We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago…" He trailed off.
Sasuke sighed and laughed. "So you gonna tell us what this mission's about or what?"
"When you say 'mission' it sounds a whole lot cooler, Sasuke." Naruto added. Kakashi gracefully jumped down from his perch and landed directly in front of his students. "I'll tell you later. Now, let's get a move on. We have a lot of ground to cover by nightfall and I don't wanna sleep up a tree 'cause of you guys lagging behind."
It was 7:30 AM by the time Kakashi's squad were leaving the village. Iruka sensei stopped them as they were leaving through the main gates. "Where you guys heading, eh?" He shouted from above, from a garrison tower left of the gates.
"Another boring old mission", Kakashi replied as Iruka yawned and rolled his eyes.
"Well I'm sure it's a whole lot more exciting than this damn guard duty I've been assigned to."
"Guard duty? Since when did you do guard duty?" Naruto questioned.
"Well you know, Naruto-kun, half of our shinobi forces are in Otogakure. They're probably having a hell of a time, unlike me. Well anyways, have fun on your mission Naru-" Iruka looked up and the squad were already gone. With a sigh, he sat back down and picked up a book.
The terrain in the Land of Fire was fairly rugged and mostly consisted of dense forestry. Mission-assigned Shinobi and civilian travellers often required detailed travel plans to ensure a safe journey. Team 7 reached the top of a wooded hill after a few hours of hiking. Naruto stopped and gazed back in the direction of the village. The dense maze of tall buildings in Konoha made it difficult for anyone inside to appreciate its sheer scale. The Hokage faces carved into the cliffs behind the village could be seen clearly from where team 7 were standing.
"It's really something, huh Naruto." Kakashi smiled, putting his hand on his student's shoulder. Naruto slowly scanned from left to right, admiring his beloved village that's structures and buildings reached far beyond the horizon. The sun was at its highest point and shined like an orb in the cloudless, summer sky.
"Right! Let's move out!" Beamed Naruto. Kakashi was surprised at Naruto's sudden motivation.
"S-sure."
"Kakashi… sensei… can we please… rest a bit… I'm out of… breath…*huff*" Naruto fell to his knees at the base of an old oak tree. "
"Naruto, we've only been walking for twelve hours. You're a shinobi; don't tell me this is too much for even you." Kakashi complained.
"What do… you mean… 'Even' me…?" Naru-kun retorted as he unzips his bag and reveals a cup ramen.
"Ah, I see… You just wanted to eat some of your ramen. Well, that's ok, but how do you plan on boiling it?" Hinted Sakura.
Naruto stared blankly at Sakura and then back at the ramen, sweat trickling down his face. He then realised that she was right. How did he plan on boiling the ramen? He must have been so distracted by his exciting B-class assignment that he completely forgot about the basic requirements for food preparation.
"Well, I guess we could set up camp here. After all, this is a rather good opportunity to brief you on your mission." Kakashi affirmed, sitting down on the grass next to his blond-haired student. "Sasuke, I'll leave it to you to get firewood for this evening, and Sakura, would you be so kind as to set up a tent?" The two made their way down into the woods, leaving Naruto and their sensei alone.
"And what about me? Kakashi Sensei? What can I do?" Naruto begged. Kakashi responded by handing Naruto an iron pot from his rucksack. The blond-haired Kyuubi-kid stared blankly into the void of his sensei's right eye while receiving the rather random item.
"You wanted to prepare that ramen, right?" Kakashi addressed, unravelling a map scroll. "According to this… There should be a spring just…" The copy ninja swivelled around, finger slowly rising until it shot directly at Naru-kun's forehead. "Up that hill." He yawned before swiftly covering his mouth. "So uh- go and get some water for our—your ramen, and I'll uh… set up… THE STOVE! YES! I'll set up the stove." Kakashi stuttered, before arranging himself into a peculiar-looking way of sitting (Or crouching as one may call it), with his hands placed on his knees and his head hunched. He looked back at Naruto, who was clearly puzzled. "I'll give you a strawberry if you keep that yawn a secret…"