Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.


Naruko and Ino stood on either side of Tazuna, while Sasuke stood behind him. Kakashi took point, and they all travelled in formation at the pace Tazuna set, which was naturally a slow walking pace.

This is going to take forever, isn't it? Naruko asked Kurama mentally.

You should've realized that when your Hokage said it was a low C-rank that would take place outside of Konoha. Kurama replied. Naruko mentally grumbled.

Well, I was too excited for something new to not notice. They kept walking at the same pace for three hours, before Naruko noticed a puddle on the side of the road. She connected her mind with Ino's using the Yamanaka Mind Link jutsu.

Hey Ino, do you notice that puddle? Naruko asked. Ino looked for it for a second, then saw the same puddle.

Yeah, I do. Hasn't there been a minor drought for the past couple of weeks? Ino responded. Naruko agreed mentally. I guess this means there's an enemy ninja in our C-rank that is only supposed to have bandits.

Should we tell Kakashi? Naruko asked her. Ino replied affirmatively.

I'll inform him. Ino broke the connection with Naruko and quickly set one up with Kakashi. Hey sensei, there seems to be at least one ninja in that puddle. What are your orders?

Kakashi blinked at the sudden intrusion into his mind, before remembering that two of his students were Yamanaka. Stay in formation, and don't tip them off to your knowledge. They'll most likely neutralize the main threat, which'll be me, then we can see if they're only after our resources or if they've specifically been sent after Tazuna. Ino sent back her confirmation, and reported back to Naruko.

Twenty seconds later, two ninja jumped out of the puddle and wrapped the chain that connected them around Kakashi. They pulled it tight and ripped him to shreds. The genin acted quickly, Ino taking up the post of guarding Tazuna while Naruko and Sasuke jumped out in front to fight the ninja.

"Hah! Brats like you can't beat us!" one of the ninja stated cockily. "Gozu, let's go! We'll kill them, then we'll kill the old man!"

Whatever they were planning was quickly derailed as Sasuke threw a shuriken into one of the links of their chain and pinned it to a tree. The two ninja growled and broke the chain, allowing for more mobility between themselves. "You'll pay for that, kid!" Gozu shouted as he went to engage Sasuke in a taijutsu battle. Sasuke was shutting down everything he threw at him, though, and he was quickly getting frustrated. Gozu swung wildly at Sasuke in frustration, and Sasuke backpedaled to capitalize on the overextension. He threw two kunai attached to each other through the rings with ninja wire, and wrapped Gozu up. He then sent a kick careening toward Gozu's chin, which knocked Gozu over. However, Gozu was still trapped in the ninja wire and was trying to cut it with his gauntlet. Sasuke, still taking charge, planted another kick on the side of his head and sent Gozu into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, with the other ninja, Naruko was having the time of her life. "Can't touch me!" Naruko taunted as she dodged the formless swings being sent her way.

How can't I even touch her? This can't be! the ninja thought, starting to panic. Naruko's keen eye saw that he was starting to lose focus and decided to end it quickly.

"Wind style: Great Breakthrough!" Naruko shouted, blowing a strong blast of wind at her opponent. He toppled head over heels and tried to recover, but Naruko was too fast. She sent a kunai coated in a paralyzing agent through his thigh to end the fight without much more fuss. "Guess you aren't very good after all. And here I was psyched for a real fight for once," Naruko pouted, blowing the hair out of her face.

Suddenly, Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves. "Great job, my cute little genin! You didn't need my help for this one!" Kakashi said happily, before turning to Tazuna. All signs of playfulness disappeared. "Why are there ninja being sent after you, Tazuna-san? With this, it's at least a B-rank." Tazuna started sweating bullets.


"So what you're saying is that one of the richest people on the planet is after you? For trying to build a bridge?" Ino asked incredulously. Tazuna nodded. Ino groaned. "And since he's rich, I think it's safe to assume that there'll be someone even stronger sent after you next. And even if we manage to defeat that person, there's probably still at least an army of bandits that he's hired specifically to screw us over. Just great!" Ino grumbled.

Kakashi jumped in. "Ino's right, this has become a very dangerous mission. By law, we are legally required to either send backup or abandon the mission in order to protect our ninja." Sasuke looked panicked at that.

"No! Sensei, we are ready for this. It'll be the perfect test of strength," Sasuke spoke up. Naruko looked thoughtful.

"Sasuke's right. I think we can continue this mission. Even if we can't handle the higher ranked ninja, you can. And we'll be stopping an evil rich guy do whatever it is he's doing!" Naruko shouted excitedly. "Man, it's like all my dreams came true! I'm gonna be a hero~!" Naruko began to sing. Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Ino, it's up to you. If you believe we can do it, then I'm willing to go. Just remember, anything that happens will be on all your shoulders, because you're the ones who are agreeing to continue the mission," Kakashi said seriously. Ino looked to the sky in thought for a few moments, before looking at Kakashi with a determined face.

"We're ready. Let's go." Tazuna let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank you! I thought you were gonna leave my poor daughter without a father, not to mention my grandson. He probably would've hated Konoha for the rest of his life, and you would've eternally scarred him!" Tazuna said gratefully. All of Team Seven sweatdropped.

"You know, we already said we'd keep going. There's no need to guilt trip us," Ino said. Tazuna took a swig from his flask in embarrassment.

"Oh. Right, sorry."


The group reached the boat they were going to take to reach the Land of Waves without incident. There was a man waiting on the boat, a hat and cloak covering anything that could identify him.

"You sure about this Tazuna?" the man asked as they settled on the boat. Tazuna nodded resolutely.

"I'm sure. These ninja are super strong, and I'm sure they'll help speed the process up. Give morale and all that," Tazuna told the man. He nodded and the boat's course.

It was hard to see anything in the fog. Hell, it was hard for Naruko to even see her hands, and they were right in front of her! However, the boatman seemed to be navigating well enough, so she let it be. Suddenly, the fog greatly diminished and a huge structure was revealed.

"Woooow! That's your bridge? It's incredible!" Naruko said in awe. Tazuna grinned and puffed his chest out in pride.

"Well, I am a Super Bridge Builder! It better be super!" Tazuna said.

"Hey! Keep your voices down, we're getting close to land. I don't want to be caught, thank you very much," the boatman grumbled.

"Sorry," Naruko said quietly. She glanced back at the enormous bridge that was in progress.

Soon enough, they reached a rickety dock that seemed unfit to support any weight. Tazuna hopped off and waited for everyone else.

"Thank you for doing this," Tazuna said gratefully. The boatman nodded.

"Be careful now." With that, the boatman drifted away back into the fog.

"Alright, back into formation team! Let's continue," Kakashi whispered commandingly. The team nodded and quickly settled back into their spots.


About an hour had passed without incident, and Naruko was getting antsy. She felt in her gut that something was going to happen soon, but she didn't know what. She heard a rustling in the bushes and quickly threw a kunai. A white bunny hopped out.

"White bunny. This time of year, they should be brown..." Kakashi muttered to himself.

Tazuna turned on Naruko. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack, lass?!" he shouted. Naruko shrunk back.

"Sorry. I thought I heard something," Naruko said.

Why would it be white? Raised in captivity, maybe? Kakashi wondered. his eye widened as he puzzled it out. Substitution! "Everybody down!" he shouted, dragging Tazuna to the ground with him. His students reacted just quick enough, as an enormous sword spun overhead and slammed into a tree. A shirtless figure dropped down onto the sword, his muscles rippling with power.

"Oh? Sharingan Kakashi, now I see why the Demon Brothers failed to kill the old man," the man mused to himself. He started radiating KI, trying to scare the genin. Kakashi's eyebrow shot up.

"Zabuza, the demon of the mist. This is a surprise," Kakashi said. He let out his own KI to combat Zabuza's.

Is this what it's like for two high leveled ninja to face off? Sasuke wondered, slowly pulling out a kunai. It's suffocating. I can't stand it. He started to bring the kunai to his neck, ready to end his own life.

"Sasuke, there's no need to be afraid. I never let my team die, you have my word," Kakashi shouted behind him, pulling his headband up.

Sasuke felt the tension disappear and replace itself with confusion. How does he have the Sharingan? I thought that was only something that Uchiha could unlock!

"Looks like I'll have to get serious from the start. Be careful my cute little students, this could get messy."