The next morning Masumi woke up and took a shower before getting dressed in her usually clothes. When she was ready, she noticed Kakashi having a hard time with the unit list. She giggled and helped him out before grabbing her cloak and going with Kakashi. After turning in the paperwork, they made their way to meet the others.

"You're late," Naruto said as he stood next to Sakura.

"Finally, you're here…." Sakura said as this was the usual.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kakashi said. "This time it took longer than I thought to write up the documents for the new team."

"What he means to say is, he mixed up the papers this morning and couldn't figure out which one was right," Sumi held back a laugh.

"Today's our new team's first mission!" Naruto exclaimed. "Aren't you fired up?! You've always been like that, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Oh, come on. You're already annoying!" Sakura interjected. "It can't be helped. Kakashi-sensei's always had that look of disinterest!"

Masumi looked at Kakashi and could almost hear his thoughts of 'I'm starting to lose my dignity here.' Sumi giggled at the three before looking up.

Above them a hawk, and when it cawed, Kakashi took notice to it. They both noted that it was a Hidden Sand messenger hawk. Masumi also took notice of how Naruto and Sakura ignored the bird.

And so, they made their way to the Hokage's office to receive their first mission as a new team. On the way, Naruto said how he was excited for a new mission and Sakura told him to accept it without complaint. While they were talking, someone from the Cipher Corps came running down the hall. Masumi and Kakashi both knew something was going on in the Sand. Masumi's ears twitched under her hood as her senses expanded and she listened to the things around her searching.

"Do you hear anything?" Kakashi asked in a small whisper to not alert the others.

In response, Masumi just barely shook her head 'no.' They then continued their way to see Lady Tsunade.

"Whaaat?! A guard for a gold buillion transport convoy?!" Naruto complained.

"Huh? You got a problem?!" Tsunade growled.

"That's totally a C-rank mission! I'll just have to say no thanks to a mission like that…" Everyone around seemed like they knew this was going to happen. Masumi held back her little giggles, but her tail wagged slightly in amusement.

"Naruto, you haven't matured mentally at all, have you?" Iruka asked.

"Naruto, I gave you an easier mission since this is more or less a comeback for you," Tsunade explained.

"I didn't ask for this!" Naruto growled.

Sakura grabbed his head and rubbed her visit against his skull, "I'm sorry, Master! I'll give him a good scolding later…."

"The details of the mission are written here," Tsunade said pushing the piece of paper forward.

"Right," Kakashi said stepping forward to take it.

"Geez, man. The old man, Third Hokage, was much more understanding," Naruto mumbled from under Sakura's fist.

"Huh? Did you say something?!" Lady Hokage growled.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Sakura said as she started to strangle Naruto.

'Well then, I guess this will be my new normal. I'm not sure how I feel about it right now...' Masumi thought to herself.

"There's trouble… Fifth Hokage!" The woman from the Cipher Corps said running in.

"What's all the commotion?" Tsunade asked.

"We just received an emergency message from the Sand."

"The Sand…?" Naruto said.

"Did you say and emergency message?!" Tsunade asked.

"This is what we have deciphered," she said handing Tsunade-sama the piece of paper. She quickly read over it.

"What?!"

"Oh… my god!"

"It can't be…"

"Hey… what happened?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade looked at Naruto with a very serious expression. "The Kazekage of the hidden Sand has been taken by the members of the organization called the Akatsuki."

Gasps filled the room while Masumi's ears perked up in alarm. "Gaara… Those guys again, huh?" Naruto mumbled.

"We have more information concerning the Akatsuki. And so the hidden Sand has officially requested our help."

"Lady Tsunade, don't tell me you're going to have Team Kakashi…?!" Shizune interjected.

"This is a time of emergency. I can't be wasting time on personnel selection. Beside, we've got someone who's actually fought against the Akatsuki and a nina who will be able to track even the smallest scent."

"I understand that, but…"

"I will now issue Team Kakashi a new mission. go to the Village Hidden in the Sand immediately, find out what's going on and report back to the Leaf. After that, you will follow the orders of the Hidden Sand and provide them with backup!" Tsunade ordered.

Quickly, Team Kakashi packed their things and made their way to the gates of the Village. They gave their farewells and began their journey after Master Jiraiya gave Naruto a message about not getting too caught up in the Akatsuki and asking Kakashi and Masumi to watch over him.