TEACHER III
"Come on kid stop messing around!"
"Hey I'm doing the best I can't!"
"MASEN-PO!"
The energy blast rushed towards the blond, naruto screamed and jumped away from the site of the blast. This guy was not kidding around and yet he knew no scratch that he could tell that the green guy was holding back. That is not how he wanted this session to be like; he wanted to show the man that he could hold his own and stand to fight as hard as he could. It seem how ever that no matter how much he had improved he had yet to reach one quarter of there level in both fighting skills and chakra or Ki manipulation.
"Stop with the blast already!"
"Until you can dodge with out hitting the ground"
Naruto cursed and jumped yet again, the blast were big and he couldn't clear the whole blast area before being thrown to the ground a few feet away from it, scraping across the ground he managed to stand up and look up at the namek grinning his fangs, sensing around he knew why. Looking upwards, he saw the whole sky filled with energy balls.
"Oh man"
"Either dodge them or stop them kid"
Naruto glared and focused, needed to remember what goku had told him, he needed to focus on his chakra, needed to cancel out the red one and focus on the blue one, feel it surging trough his body and then unleashed it trough his body. Opening his eyes he smirked when he felt his whole body filled with chakra, he couldn't clear the sky of the energy balls. Then they all came all at once, naruto groaned and shock his head, he could not dodge them all, he could try and stop them but if he knew piccolo and he did the green alien was going to give him a hard work out.
Focusing he could feel every single one rushing towards him, the first one from the left extending his hand he managed to hit it and sent it flying away from him. He cursed when his whole arm became numb, not enough chakra' then before he could even recover two more came, one from the right and one directly above him, one thing to do. He expanded his chakra and created a shield surrounding his body, the two blasts hit it dead on and broke it but the two energy balls also fizzle out. The namek floating on the sky smiled, the kid was getting good, but if that last blast had been, any indication the kid is chakra was going to run out soon.
Naruto on his part felt his chakra drop considerably, he couldn't muster enough to repel the next attacks but he could use it in another way, goku told him that they used there Ki to enhance both there strengths and speeds, he had tried it a couple of times but he had yet to master the technique.
"Heads up kid!"
Naruto looked up and shock his head, they were all coming at him at once from every direction, there was no way that he could counter them or stop them, not with the chakra he had now. So he needed to dodge them, focusing on his feet he felt a push and then sent he was high on the air, he had done it.
"Hey I did it!"
The explosion on the bottom how ever was too small and that is when he noticed that he had pushed just a bit too much chakra into his feet. So he was now high on top of the air and he had no way to stop his free fall.
"Relax kid, I got you"
"You know I got to learn how to fly one of these days"
TEACHER
CHAPTER III
"ASSESSEMENTS"
"Sasuke here, I'm at point b"
"Sakura here, I'm at point c"
Kakashi nodded and frowned when the deam thing jumped away from its original position, rushing after it he advised his team to move in and close off the target before it got away once again. Sure, it was dangerous to corner it but it had to be done, the two others in his team moved in closing off its escape routes, he smiled and rushed towards the target in second he had him in his hands and was handing it to sakura.
"Mission complete"
Sasuke glared at the cat in sakura is arms, stupid thing had managed to escape three times, this time how ever it didn't get away, sakura pulled the cat away from her body and the thing began to scratch and hiss.
"Stupid cat's gone mad!"
"Easy sakura, the cats just exited is all"
"Bottom line is we got him but I have to ask, kakashi how did naruto get out of this?"
Kakashi closed his eye and took a deep breath, he couldn't very well tell them the truth but he had to tell them something, he how ever didn't know what. After all, he couldn't very well tell them the truth; sasuke and sakura how ever were still waiting for an answer. Truth was naruto should be in kurenai is care right about now.
"He is studying his Genjutsu"
Training Grounds 9
Kurenai looked at her team and smiled, they seem to be doing all right, it was time to focus her attention on the boy beside her, to say that he was un happy with what had happened was an understatement, he was pouting and glaring at the ground. She smiled and wondered if he would even be here if the hokage had not order him to come, turning towards him she place a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him, naruto looked up and raised an eye brow.
"So naruto, kakashi tells me you're good at fighting"
"I don't know what you're talking about"
He knew all right but he hated the fact that kakashi had gone and blabbed to the old man about his abilities, naruto knew that if it were any other genin he or she wouldn't be in this mess. Special treatment thanks to the demon inside of him, how lucky was he. So here, he was with a woman whom he had fist thought to be attractive standing before him with a superior smirk on her face, she was a confident one all right and something told him that she was here to do more than to see his abilities in action.
"I know this is the last thing you wanted to do today but think of as an opportunity"
"To do what?"
"To learn of course"
He raised an eye brow and kurenai felt a bit disappointment that he found it so hard to believe her words, the kid seem to be un easy around others specially grown ups this being a direct order from the hokage seem to be making things worse. The kid was a loner she could tell that by just looking at him but she also knew that it was not by choice. After what had happened the night before she had been curious to learn more about naruto so she had asked the hokage for the kid is file. She wished she hadn't, the kid is file was as depressing as it was horrifying, from beatings to assassination attempts. The orphanage that held the boy did not only beat him but treated him as trash, she shivered at the images that came to mind and from the anger, she felt towards the hokage.
The old man had to have the power to stop it, but she knew that there were other things to consider; one of them was the high power the council members had. While it was true that the hokage was the leader of the village it was also true that he was subjected to pressure from the clans of the village. If he were to oppose them then he would lose there support, which would in turn cause chaos within the village is council members from there it could even spread trough the whole fire country, this would weaken there village is power, not a good thing.
"You want to teach me? Not buying it lady no one wants me as there student"
She was taken back, he seem to study her with anger filled eyes, as if he already knew what this so call training lesson was about, but that couldn't be they had been sworn to secrecy. Then again maybe kakashi is dislike for the boy had showed trough and naruto had picked up on it, either way she needed to calm him down or she would get no were.
"Of course they don't want you as there student you're a loud mouth trouble maker"
The glare she received was welcomed with a superior smirk and she knew that her plan was working; she was going to assess this little punk no matter what.
"I mean come now naruto you are the worst of the genin, low grades and lets face it your not the smartest one in the bunch, I think Kiba is dog is smarter than you"
Naruto clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, he had been insulted sure, hell he had even made fun off but this was different, he had gotten a bell from kakashi stood up to him and had come up on top and here he was being insulted by a woman who barely knew him. Aside from that, he had heard kiba laugh and akamaru bark at the comment. Glancing towards him with his peripheral vision he could see the blush on hinata and the look on shino; they seem to be keeping there cool and for that, he was thankful.
Looking at kurenai, he could see the small smirk and knew that she had issued a challenge to him. He smiled when he remembered that, that was one of piccolo's way of getting a rise out of him, he would tease, offend him and even hit him as hard as he could muster all to make him lose his temper. This time however, it was not going to work; he had been made a fool far too many times by that deam namek. He looked up at her and smiled, standing up he turns around and begins to walk away from the field, when he is a few feet away he looks up at the sky and takes a deep breath.
"You better hope, that I never face kiba in battle"
With that warning said he vanished right before there eyes and kurenai is eyes widen in surprise, he had move fast he didn't rushed away from the field he had simply vanished from sight. Looking at her students, she saw hinata look away and shino is dark glasses staring at her, some how she knew that she had messed up with her students.
"Hinata, shino, I didn't mean too"
Both did not speak, as for naruto he appeared beside his friends on the hokage is main office, the old man glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. He was supposed to be with kurenai, glancing at kakashi sarutobi could feel the surprise on his face as well.
"Naruto what are you doing here?"
"I finished my studies with kurenai, sorry about missing the mission guys"
Sasuke just smirked and turned towards him.
"As long as you don't mess up on more missions I'm ok with you brushing up your skills, you need it"
"Yeah"
He glanced at kakashi and then at the hokage, both were surprised to see him at the meeting, which meant that they had not planed on him being here, tough luck for them he was not going to play there game not any more.
"So what was the mission guys?"
"Capturing a stupid cat"
Sasuke pointed at the fat lady strangling a cat and frowned, the cat seem to be doing every thing in his power to break free from the woman, sasuke and sakura is eyes indicated that the stupid cat deserve what he got. Sarutobi turned there attention back to him and began to offered them missions, or more precisely chores, baby sitting some brats, picking up potatoes, naruto couldn't handle any more of those missions. Not that he had been to there first one but to hell with those lame missions he wanted a real one.
"Nooo, I want to go on a real mission, not this kid's stuff"
Sasuke couldn't agree more, but then iruka stood up and began to rant.
"How dare you, you're just a brand new genin with no experience. Like every one else you start with simple missions"
"Are you kidding me!?"
"Be quiet!"
Kakashi is fist was about to hit his head, thankfully his reflexes weren't rusty at all, kakashi is fist only hit air and made the jounin stumble a bit forwards, if naruto had been hit it would have hurt. The hokage how ever saw the quick response on the gening and smirked, it seem that naruto was indeed a surprising genin. Perhaps it was time to show him what a true mission was like.
"You want a true mission eh naruto?"
"Yeah, I do"
The hokage is laughter surprised them but then again the old man had always been kind to the boy, perhaps saw him as a second grand son. Kakashi turned towards the man and saw his smile, he frowned, the hokage shouldn't be doing this his team was far too young and had no field experience. The old man how ever understood were naruto was coming from, he wanted to get out there and show that he was not the loser every one thought him to be, he wanted to prove his worth as both a ninja and a human being.
"So be it, since you're so determined I'm giving you a C ran mission. You'll be a body guards in a mission"
Naruto smiled, the old man understood him perhaps he was the only one that did. That how ever did not excuse what he had done in setting him up for a trial test with kurenai, if all went well he would have a nice long chat with the old geezer, after all he couldn't very well be mistrusting of every one, besides the old man had never done any thing to warrant mistrust. Yeah it was best to tell him what he thought, after the mission of course.
"So who are we guarding?"
"I'll bring him in right now"
With his command, a door to the side opened and naruto frowned, he was beginning to think that the hokage was seeing him as more than a stupid kid, but that drunken man proved that he still had a long ways to go to show off his skills. It seem that every one saw him as just another big mouthed fool, that was his fault of course but after passing kakashi is test he had believed that they would at least given him the benefit of the doubt, but it seem that even the old man was still seeing him as a kid who needed easy missions. So he would take this mission and show them all what he could do nothing but serious naruto, that right he would take this mission with all seriousness.
"What the? A bunch of kids? Don't tell me your all ninjas, you the little one with the idiotic look on his face are you really a ninja?"
"No idiot I'm the kid who is going to let you go to hell"
"Naruto"
"Come on this is crap, what kind of a mission is this? Guarding a drunken old man"
"Listen kid I'm Tazuna a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country I'm building a bridge there that will change my world so I expect you to get me there safely even at the cost of your life"
Naruto frowned, and looked at the hokage the old man just smiled. He had given them a mission all right, it might not be the best one but it sounded important, grunting naruto nodded in defeat, if this is, what it would take to advance in the ranks then so be it, besides he had gotten out of D level missions which was a good thing. Heading home, they decided to meet the next day bright and early, after all kakashi and his team had already been on a mission that day, and it was already late. Naruto nodded and parted ways, he was sure that neither sasuke nor sakura would want to meet with him any ways, besides the way that kakashi was staring at him made him want to punch the elite right in his good eye.
Walking out of the building he saw one of the guards signaling him to follow, it seem that the hokage wanted to talk to him, his conversation had come earlier than he had anticipated, but that was okay, he had a few things he wanted to get off his chest. Arriving at office he saw kurenai beside the man and frowned, despite his arrival she had not taken her eyes of the floor. Sarutobi however was staring at him with an intense look this was serious.
"You know why you're here"
"Cuz I disobeyed your order and wouldn't play your little game"
"It's no game naruto; kakashi has certain concerns regarding your skills"
Concerns, naruto smiled, the jounin was concern about his skills and it seem that he wasn't the only one, the old man was tense and worried that had taken him by surprised, if there was one man whom naruto knew he could trust with his life it would be sarutobi and yet here he was questioning him. He looked away and frowned, sarutobi saw the changed in naruto, he knew what had gone trough his mind and frowned at that but it couldn't be helped. If kakashi is, concerns were un founded then that would be the end of that but if they weren't, he didn't even want to think about that.
"Just because I wouldn't play her game doesn't mean I won't follow your orders"
"Naruto"
"If you want me to fight, if you want to know what I am capable off then just ask old man"
Sarutobi shock his head, he was disappointed not in naruto but in himself, the boy is words cut trough him, the disappointment in the kid is voice hurt. In all his life, the man had not heard the boy sound so defeated, as per naruto he just wanted this to end. It was one thing for others to question his abilities but for the old man to be concern that he might be dangerous, that hurt but what hurt the most was that the old man had doubted him.
"Naruto he is the hokage it's his job to be concern"
"The demon is locked away; I am still in control and just because I'm not the fool you all believe I was don't mean I want to destroy this village"
Naruto vanished, he was tired of being doubted, of the fear and hate in every one is eyes, but this time, he had seen for the first time that despite the old man is words, despite the kindness and the love the old man had showed him there was still doubt. The old man was afraid, not of what he held inside but of what might happened if it ever got out, he should of know that despite the caring nature of the man he still had his concerns, he was the hokage after all. He had a right to be concern and he knew that, but that how ever didn't mean that he wasn't hurt by what he had seen and heard tonight.
The smile that was on his face would have made every one wonder, would have made every one think that the boy was losing his mind. the truth was that he was any thing but; if any thing naruto uzumaki had become much more determined and inspired to prove them all wrong, no matter what he was going to prove that he was not what they believed him to be, or what they thought he would become. He was naruto uzumaki and soon he was going to show them all what he could do.
(THE NEXT DAY)
The team arrived in konoha gates right on schedule of course there instructor was no were in sight. The bridge building looked at the three kids and frowned; he would never understand ninja villages or there methods of training children to become weapons, it was one thing to be guarded by an adult but to be guarded by kids, they seem to be so inexperience in this. He knew that they had to be ninja in training or else they would be taking a low ranking mission, secretly he wondered if they were any good or if he should come forward with his secret.
"So old man how important is this bridge?"
The blond brat looked at him and tazuna smirked, the brat had come off as a cocky loud mouth kid who was nothing but talk, he knew the kind and he didn't mind, but that is when his life didn't depend on them guarding him. If this kid was nothing but talk then his hopes and dreams, no, the hopes and dreams of his town were crushed, looking at the other two he noticed that they were a bit far off and wouldn't hear his words, it was nothing personal they just didn't seem the kind to give a deam. The black haired kid was always scowling and the pink haired girl was always fawning over him, they were in there own little world so why bother them with his story.
Naruto raised an eye brow when the old man gave him a serious expression, it seem that after there little encounter yesterday the old man was beginning to calm down, that or the alcohol had ran its course out of his system, what ever the reason it seem the old man was ready to take him seriously.
"It's the life line of my town"
"Life line?"
"Yeah"
The old man was serious, his eyes became hard and his fist had clenched when he had said those words, which mean that what ever was going on in that town of his was definitely grave, naruto smiled and nodded, it seem that this mission was not such lousy one after all.
"Don't worry old man, well get you there safe"
"Yeah? Why are you so sure? You seem like a joke to me"
"Think what you want old man, but I am naruto uzumaki and will some day become hokage"
The old man smirked and laughed, the kid was too much, he had spoken with such determination that he wondered if there was more to him, shaking his head he got up when the jounin arrived. it seem the elite had crossed paths with a black cat or something, the five of them walked out of the village, but just after a couple of minutes after there outing naruto froze, there was something, no some one following then, kakashi saw the way the blond froze and stopped. The kid seem to be spooked by something' was looking around the whole area as if trying to find something, sakura was about to say something when he signaled her to stop.
"Naruto?"
"There is some one, no there are two people trailing us"
"How can you tell?"
Kakashi opened his senses and felt nothing, it seems that either naruto was mistaken or the kid knew something he didn't, which was unlikely. Naruto on his part just frowned when he felt the two chakra signatures fade away, two charkas, strong ones at that.
"I just do ok"
"Stop scaring us brat!"
Tazuna didn't appreciate the kid is joke, then again the kid seem to be worried, taking a drag of his bottle he laughed and pointed at the blond.
"You're scared at shadows and I'm supposed to believe you will become hokage some day?"
"I don't care what you believe old man"
"Well I do know that hokages are powerful and wise, you are puny and brainless, the day you become hokage ill sprout wings and fly"
"Think what you will I'm going on ahead"
Tazuna looked at the three members of the team and raised an eyebrow, the jounin seem to be annoyed while the two others were just looking at the blond brat who had walked ahead of them. Tazuna smirked and grunted then continue to walk while the rest followed him, what they didn't see was the smile on the old man is face. His little tactic had worked, he had gotten there attention off the possible treats, that would buy him some time, at least until who ever was hunting him realized that he had a jounin as a body guard.
Kakashi on the other hand was trying to figure out what had happened, tazuna is outburst had stopped him from asking naruto any more about what he had felt, truth was he was unsure of he should trust the blond but when on a mission you had to rely on your team mates, even if they were only genin. Shaking his head he knew that this mission had just gotten complicated' that he would need to be on his guard from here on out.
Then the meaningless conversations began and naruto frowned, this was like being in school all over again, sure, he was not the smartest one but sakura was one of the top in his class she should have known all of what kakashi had explained, but that was not what was annoying him. Kakashi seem to be too relaxed, his guard should be up but so far, naruto didn't detect any thing from the jounin, he cursed and opened his senses. There were two chakra signatures but he could focus them, he couldn't tell were they were coming from.
"Naruto"
Kakashi looked at the genin with surprised, he had just stopped and tensed, his hand was reaching for his weapons pouch, something was definitely wrong with the genin. The thing was that he could now feel something in the wind, something that didn't seem to add up, glancing at his surroundings, he saw no sing of trouble or chakra signatures, but then again naruto seem to have been on guard since they had left the village.
"There are two chakra signatures in front of us, I can't see any one"
Kakashi frowned and then remembered this was naruto; the boy wouldn't be able to see a genjutsu even if it popped out and hit him in the face. Telling them to keep there guards up they walked forwards, just as expected two figures jumped from the puddle and kakashi smiled. It was time he saw how well his rookies did in an actual combat situation, using a substitution jutsu he managed to dodge the attack of the two attacking ninjas, in the battlefield he saw that naruto was the first one to be attacked.
The two shinobies rushed towards the blond and naruto frowned, kakashi had vanished right after the attack and despite knowing that he was some were around the area he knew that he was not going to lend a hand in this fight. However, that was beside the point he needed to focus on the battle at hand, the two ninjas in front of him pulled a spike chained, one was on the left and the other on the right the chain connecting them. He how ever was not ready when they vanished and reappeared behind him.
"Got you"
The two wiped there chain to try and circle him, but the blond was to fast, he did a round back kick and send the first ninja crashing against the other, sasuke whom had been ready to enter the fight froze, the dub was actually fighting. Naruto turned towards them and frowned when he saw the way the instantly came back up, the two exchange a glance and nodded. It was clear that they had made a plan, they unleashed there chain once more but this time it broke free from there hands and they went there separate ways, one towards naruto the other towards sasuke and the old man.
"SHADOW CLONES"
Sasuke froze, there was just no way that this was naruto, the clone rushed towards tazuna and sakura pulling them away from the battle field, naruto cursed when he dodge a right claw from the one ninja that had rushed towards him, grabbing the hand that had swatted at him he held him and looked at sasuke.
"Heads up!"
Sasuke snapped out of his shock and jumped out of the attack is way, the two demon brothers cursed, the blond had gotten the target out of the way, that meant that there opportunity had been lost. The second demon brother jumped towards his brother and double-teamed the blond, much to sasuke and naruto is annoyance.
"Get him first then we deal with the other one"
The blond had created the clones, had countered attacked and had even snapped his teammate out of his daze which allowed him to dodge the incoming attack, it was clear that the blond kid had to be eliminated he was the one who reacted the fastest and knew how to handle himself in battle.
"No dice"
Kakashi came out no were and in a second held the two brothers in his arms, naruto smiled and shock his head, it was about time he came out of hiding, sasuke looked at kakashi and then at the blond. Naruto seem to just be annoyed that teacher had arrived when he had, kakashi on the other hand seem to smile behind that mask of his. Walking next to them, he pointed at the two and frowned.
"So who are those guys?"
"I think they were after our client"
Remembering what he had done naruto send the other to his clones and they returned in an instant, a grumbling sakura and a worried looking tazuna, kakashi walked to a near by three and tied the two brothers; finishing it he walked towards tazuna and glared at the old man. But before he said any thing he walked passed sasuke and naruto, he smiled nodded at sasuke and naruto smirked, he didn't need that display to know whom kakashi favored in his team.
"N-naruto are you ok?"
He turned towards sakura and saw her gaze fixed on his arm, it seem he had been cut by the discarded chain, frowning he looked at it and pulled out a bandage. It seem that while he was good at tracking the attacking ninjas he still needed to work on how to track discarded objects, that might be problematic if one doesn't keep a close watch on them. Kakashi looked at the wound and frowned when he saw that it had began to heal, it seem that the fox would take care of any injuries to naruto, so with that solve he turned towards the man before him, tazuna the bridge builder.
"So care to explain?"
"What are you talking about?"
"There chunin from the village hidden in the mist, there specialty is relentless attack, they keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice"
The two ninja tied to the three glared at the jounin, he seem to know more than he was letting on, one of them spoke up.
"How did you know about our ambush?"
Kakashi smiled, he could tell them about the heads up naruto had given them, but then it would mean that if they were to escape then they could warn the others to watch out for the blond kid and next time they couldn't be as ready.
"A puddle in a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks"
The two didn't seem convince but for now kakashi knew that they had bought his story, that was all that mattered, with it they could do no harm just in case they were to escape. Tazuna looked towards kakashi and glared at the man.
"If you knew all that why leave the work to the genin"
"I had to know who there target was"
Tazuna looked at him and frowned, the man had figured him out there was no point in him putting up a front, even though the attack could have been ninja attacking ninja kakashi had seen the two mist nin rushing towards tazuna, it was clear who they were after. Turning to face the old man kakashi wondered if he was going to make up an excuse or just come out and say what was going on.
"When you made your request you stated that you wanted protection from robbers and highway men, you didn't say there were ninjas hunting you down, if we knew this it would be a B rank mission or higher, our task was simply to take you to your destination and protection while you finished protecting your bridge. If we knew we were going to be fending off attacks from enemy ninjas we would have staffed differently and charged for a B rank missions, that means we are far beyond out scope of our original missions"
Tazuna frowned, he knew that the mission was over as soon as the long speech ended, but if that were the case then it would mean that his whole town would be ruined, he couldn't let that happened but then again it was no longer up to him. The jounin was going to decide what to do and if he were to simply end it right here then that would be the end of that.
"Were genin this is to advance for our level of training, we should get back and I think we should treat naruto is wound, back in the village we can take him to a doctor"
Naruto looked at sakura and frowned, since when was she concern about his well being, stupid girl was using him as an excuse to end there mission. He glared at her and looked at his arm; sure, it felt numb but despite that it was still functional, it would not be a problem.
"Naruto is arm could become a problem, I guess we should go back to the village"
"Bridge builder we will complete this mission and I will protect you no matter what"
"Guess were taking the mission"
Sakura cursed and looked at naruto claiming he was a masochist, kakashi deciding to be on the side of caution took a closer look at naruto is wound and frowned, there was no wound, what ever happened it had left no trace behind. Sakura looked at kakashi and at the arm; she frowned when she saw that naruto is arm was un harmed.
"W-what?"
"A Jutsu I picked up"
Sakura nodded and walked towards sasuke, kakashi looked at naruto who was looking ahead as if annoyed by the man is presence, it seem that the blond had not even noticed what had happened to his arm. almost as if he was un aware of what was happening inside of him or more precisely of what the fox was doing to his body' now he wondered more about the blond is abilities, could they be because of the meddling of the demon?
Wave Country
The news had spread quickly, it seem that kakashi is assumption was right, they had been spied upon and now that spy was reporting on what she had seen, the man gato frowned, it seem that the chunin he had sent out failed. But it what was more interesting was that they had been out bested by a couple of chunin, which shouldn't be surprising seeing as how there instructor was a jounin.
"You failed, and here I thought you were top notch assassins, I paid good money zabusa"
"Stop whining"
The man pulls out a ratter large sword and gato frowns when it stops just a few inches away from his throat, he glared at the man but knew that he had to keep up his act just a little longer, if all worked out fine soon it would all end.
"This time I will go personally and this sword will be the last thing he sees"
"You sure about that? Your fist attempt failed and this time they will be expecting another attack, they will be waiting for you"
"Who do you think you're dealing with? I am the demon of the hidden mist"
LAND OF FIRE COAST
Naruto looked at the man beside them and wondered what he was so deep in thought about, it seem that after the attack tazuna is demeanor had changed somewhat. The drunken man was replaced by a worried old man that was filled with sadness, the campfire that was illuminating there site only seem to make the figure seem even more depressed, walking over to the old man he handed him some of his food and tazuna smiled.
"What's this?"
"You seem kind of down, want to talk about it?"
"You're just a kid, you wouldn't understand"
"Try me"
Naruto smiled and sat down beside the man, he wanted to know what exactly the man was worried about, he had spoken about the bridge before and had mentioned something about a lifeline but there was more to it. The way his eyes turned downwards and his voice filled with emotion told another story, this bridge meant more to the man; it was as if it was a personal matter.
"I was not lying when I said that the bridge was my town is life line"
"Oh?"
"There is a man, he is called gato a criminal who controls the export and import industries he controls our village is economy and our lives"
"That's why the bridge is so important?"
Having a criminal in control was something that even naruto knew was wrong, they had no moral code or ethics all they cared about was there business, he had deal with that kind of scum before. Now he was beginning to know why the man was invested on building his bridge, he wanted his town to be free from the control of that gato character.
"Yes, with it his shipping business would crumble to the ground"
"I think I get were your coming from old man"
"Oh really?"
Naruto is gaze was fixed on the sky' tazuna could see the sadness behind his eyes, something told him that the kid had dealt with bad people before, it was clear that this kid was more than meet the eye, he just keep himself hidden from the rest of the world.
"Yeah really, I get why you want gato out, you did say he was a criminal right?"
"Yeah, he makes out lives miserable"
"Well don't worry about it, soon as the boat gets here well be your town in no time"
"You aren't afraid of what might happened kid?"
Naruto smiled, the man still seem to be having trouble accepting the fact that they were going to continue on with the mission, while it was true that the danger factor had gone up a notch and the mission had changed the main of objective was the same. They needed to help tazuna not because of what they would get in return but because it was the right thing to do, that is why kakashi had agreed to go along with it.
"What will happened will happen old man no sense in worrying about it"
"Hey you two, the boat is here"
Kakashi called them to the port and they noticed that there ride had arrived, they were going to travel by night that way they would get to the old man is town when it was still day light.
"You ready to go old man?"
"Yeah I am brat"
They got into the small boat and headed off towards wave, naruto smiled this mission had been exactly what he wanted it to be, they were going to face more attacks and that little D mission had turned into an A rank one. things were turning out for the better, sakura looked at the smiling blond and frowned, naruto seem to be far to exited about what was to come next.
"Naruto?"
"What is it sakura?"
"H-how is your arm?"
"All better"
He smiled and unwrapped his bandages, she smiled when she saw that not even a scar remained, touching his arm she blushed when she felt the muscle underneath the skin, taking a closer look she saw that it was not a skinny arm, it was filled with muscle.
"It's so hard"
Naruto smiled when her eyes connected with his and she pulled her hand back and blushed, he was never going to understand girls, sakura on her part just smiled and shock her head, what was she thinking.
"I work out a lot"
"I noticed, I was …I wanted to thank you"
"For what?"
"When the attack happened you pulled me and tazuna away"
He frowned at that, he remembered the attack, he had acted on instinct that's why he had pulled sakura and the old man out, reflecting back on it he knew that he had done wrong by sakura, if any thing he should be apologizing to her. He had pulled her out of the battle with out her even having a chance to show what she got.
"I think I owe you an apology, I shouldn't have pulled you out of the battle"
"Huh?"
"You know showing off your moves and all"
Sakura frowned, what moves? She had none. Looking down at her hands she clenched them a bit tighter, she had froze, she didn't even fight for the clone to leave her behind, truth was she didn't now what she could bring to the team.
"Y-yeah m-my m-moves"
Kakashi looked at his student and saw the crest fallen look on sakura, naruto had mean to upset her but it seem that he had made her wonder what her skills were, now that he thought about it he had seen sakura and naruto work together before but had not seen the girl do any thing other than stand around. sasuke had given him a fight and impressed him when the had given the final test but those two, he wondered about naruto because he still felt him to be a wild card. Sakura on the other hand, he wondered about her.
The missing had escalated in ranking were his student ready? If the time came, would they be up for the challenge? Closing his eye he wished that he had not gone along with this, he just hoped that when the time came nothing would go wrong.
Continued….