"I WANT A REAL MISSION!" yelled Naruto after returning from his most recent task: capturing the daimyo's wife's escaped pet cat, Tora - for the third time. He had already vowed that if he was sent to bring back that cat one more time he would Ice Beam it and bring it back frozen.
'As much as I hate to admit it, Naruto has a point', thought Sasuke. 'These missions are little more than chores'
Iruka was about to shout at Naruto for speaking to the Hokage in such a way, but stopped when he saw the Hokage laughing.
"Naruto wants to prove himself", said the Hokage. "Not just to the village, but to someone else, too".
"Yeah, that's right", said Naruto. "How did you know?"
"You didn't think I was oblivious to your private training, did you?"
"Private training?" said Sasuke in surprise with a hint of jealousy.
"Yeah, Mewtwo-sensei trained me to use all those attacks I used against Kakashi-sensei in our survival exercises", said Naruto. "And a few others too".
"All right then", said the Hokage. "I'll give you a C-rank mission".
"Really? Cool!" said Naruto. "What is it?"
"You'll be bodyguards for our client, Mr Tazuna", said the Hokage. "Bring him in".
At this, a bearded, bespectacled man holding a bottle of liquor entered the room. "So those are the ninja who are supposed to protect me?" said Tazuna. "They look pathetic. And that one, the medium-height one with the idiotic look on his face. Am I supposed to believe that he's going to be my bodyguard?"
Naruto laughed until he realised that Sasuke was taller than him whilst Hinata was a little shorter.
"Let's see how you like my Ice B..." began Naruto, but Kakashi put a hand over the genin's mouth. "Naruto, you're supposed to protect the client, not attack him", he said.
As the four ninja and one bridge-builder left the Leaf village (with Naruto celebrating the first time he had been outside the village)
none of them noticed four pairs of eyes watching them.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei, does the land of waves have a ninja village?" asked Naruto as they walked.
"No, it does not", said Kakashi. "A small island nation like the land of waves would have little need for a ninja village".
Kakashi began to explain how there were many other ninja villages out there, but the five most powerful were each base in one of the Five
Great Nations, when Hinata suddenly told everyone to stop.
"What is it?" asked Naruto.
"I could have sworn I saw a... LOOK OUT!"
Naruto turned just in time to duck under an attack from a giant clawed gauntlet with a chain of shuriken attached. The man on whose arm the gauntlet was worn tried again to strike Naruto, but he leapt over the attack. Another similar figure who wore the same gauntlet, but on the other arm, ran at Sasuke, slashing with his huge metal claw, but Sasuke leapt back, firing his Fireball Jutsu at the attacker, who in turn dodged to the side. Sasuke threw a kunai to pin the chain between the gauntlets with a kunai. The two gauntlet-wielders closed in on Sasuke but he leapt, somehow standing with one foot on each gauntlet. Suddenly the two gauntlet-wearers yanked the kunai from the tree. Sasuke leapt back as they charged towards Tazuna. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata leapt in the way to protect the bridge builder as they charged forward, but Kakashi burst from the ground behind them and pulled them into the ground.
"Earth style head-hunter jutsu!" said Kakashi, leaving them with only their heads emerging from the ground.
"Where were you?" asked Naruto.
"I was trying to find out if they were after Tazuna or us", said Kakashi. "If there are enemy ninja after you, then this is a B-rank mission or harder. We're beyond the scope of the missio..."
But his words were cut short as a huge sword embedded itself in a nearby a tree. A stranger wearing bandages on his lower face appeared, standing on the blade.
"Who is that guy?" asked Sasuke.
"That's..." said Kakashi, looking shocked.
"...Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist".
I would like to apologise for the long time taken to update and the shortness of this chapter. Next one will be longer.
Don't forget to review and/or vote on the poll!
