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*Six days since last chapter-Training Ground 0600*

In the course of the past week Mitoto and Jirobo had come to one conclusion, their new Squad Leader was utterly insane. Not insane as in mentally unstable, but rather in the fact that he was a Task Master beyond the level of their former Jounin Sensei. While never unkind, the younger Shinobi was a perfectionist of the highest degree, he demanded that they complete their training to a certain point of mastery before allowing them to move forward onto more skills.

Yet despite this fact, or perhaps because of it, it was easy for them to see the value of learning their skills to that level, the Junior Gennin had increased their Chakra Reserves as well as their Control and Stealth abilities significantly under the guidance of their younger Gennin Squad Leader.

Today would be the day that Squad 'Naruto', as the two had jokingly taken to calling themselves, would begin taking Missions. Mitoto was as excited as her clan typically got for the opportunity to potentially test herself, while Jirobo couldn't help but feel slightly nervous at going on Missions without the comfort of having a reliable Jounin there in the event of the Mission going sideways. It wasn't that Jirobo didn't have confidence in the abilities of his Taicho, because he truly did believe that his Team Leader was capable, it was Mitoto and his own abilities that he questioned. Their Taicho had proven through numerous Spars and training sessions that he was more than capable, capable of fighting both of his Juniors at the same time with relative ease. That fact was what worried Jirobo, the fact that, in his mind, they would be liabilities to the success of the Mission. Especially given the fact that they would be doing Missions for the foreseeable future a Squad member short, given the fact that their elusive forth teammate was currently in the Brigg for failing to show for Duty, his Duty Post's being Team Training as well as Barracks Watch Duty three nights prior to their Team Assignment to Squad 'Naruto'.

Both Junior Gennin were lost in their wonderings when Squad 'Naruto's' Taicho entered the Training Ground, two Mission Scrolls safely secured in a Scroll Holster strapped to his left thigh alongside a Storage Scroll which contained enough Gear and Supplies to last an entire Chuunin Squad a month of back to back B-Rank Missions. He'd learned his lessons on the consequences of a Squad not being adequately prepared, and he'd never allow his Squad to be that Squad. Walking Silently behind his Kohai, Naruto made a point of getting just outside of their striking range before clearing his throat. His Kohais reactions had been hilarious, it was all took a great deal of effort not to burst out laughing as the two Junior Gennin jumped nearly three feet in the air. Priceless.

Reigning in his momentary joy, and ignoring Mitoto and Jirobo's shouts of startle, Naruto pulled out the Teams Mission Scrolls, holding them both up he began giving their Mission Brief. "Yesterday at 1723, an Envoy from the Mayor of Tsumatkui, a small town just two hours run North of Konoha arrived to request a Bandit Extermination Mission, as well as a Goods Recovery Mission. The number of enemy personal are not known exactly, but are estimated to be less than a dozen with no known Shinobi presence. This is a Mid C-Rank Mission, with a Moderate to low chance of Rank Increase. As for the Recovery Mission, the Item that we will be searching for is a medallion that is a family heirloom of the Mayor, while the risk level is the same, the Mission is being Classified as a High C-Rank Recovery Mission. Hokage-Sama himself assigned our Squad this Mission, he has the uttermost faith in our abilities to successfully complete these assignments. That being said, meet at the East Gate at 0800, time now is 0610, bring enough gear for a week in case the Bandit's have changed locations and we are forced to track them down. Any questions?" Receiving no responses, Naruto nodded his head, before dismissing his Squad and making his way for the East Gate.

*Konoha East Gate-0630*

Having arrived at the East Gate, Naruto began filling out his Squad's information in the Exit Logbook, in it he outlined the basic Route that he had planned out for his Squad in the event that they encountered an ambush in route to Tsumatkui. Such measures were not required outside of War Time, but a few of the more Seasoned Squad Leaders, but Naruto despite being a Rookie as far as Squad Leadership went saw the life saving potential of the practice. Even if he wasn't capable of sending a distress signal, and his Squad fell (which he would not allow to happen), then it would make it to where the Search and Rescue Squad's would be able to find their location easier, and if they'd been terminated, then hunt down the ones whom had terminated them.

Now with an hour and a half to spare, Naruto went and leaned against a tree near the Gate, content to wait for his Team. A few minutes later, he nearly had a heart attack when a certain Silver Haired Jounin commented from less than a foot behind him "Lovely day for a Mission, Neh?" No matter what the Jounin said in the years to come, nor what the two Gate Guards would snicker on about for the coming weeks, Naruto Uzumaki did not jump ten feet into the air nor did he do so screaming. Collecting himself, and removing his hand from his chest, the Gennin turned and offered a Salute to his Sempai. "Good afternoon Kakashi-Sempai, what brings you out this way? A Mission, or are you getting lost on the Road of Life again?"

With a slight twinkle in his visible eye, Kakashi returned the Salute, something that shocked a few that saw it due to the fact that Kakashi Hatake did not return such gestures unless the Shinobi had earned his respect. Something not easily attainable. Deigning it an acceptable action, Kakashi decided to amuse his young Kohai with an answer "A little bit of both to be honest, Juigetsu Mahora, a Jounin that I briefly served with in the War, asked me to watch over his Gennin Squad while he's on Sick Leave with a rather nasty case of the Flu, I've got his brat's painting a fence down the street. You taking your Squad on a Mission?"

Turning his head to check the validity of the Jounin's statement, he returned his gaze back to Kakashi, noticing that the man was now checking the Exit Logbook before the Jounin looked back at him expectantly. "Hai, two Missions around Tsumatkui. Decided to take the East Gate exit and loop back around Tsumatkui's rear in effort to avoid potential ambush along the linear route." Hearing the young Squad Leader's reasoning, Kakashi nodded in approval barely keeping a smile off of his masked face.

"Excellent decision, but keep in mind that Tsumatkui's Northern Wall is situated near the Daisui river, and there's not a bridge for nearly five miles to the East." Nodding his head, Naruto replied "Duly noted, but it shouldn't pose a problem Sempai. I've ensured that my Team is more than prepared for this Mission." Nodding his approval, Kakashi let the matter of the Mission drop in favor of inquiring more about the Uzumaki's training. "How's your Suiton been coming along, any improvement since last week?" The, unknowingly, Uzumaki Heir's lips thinned at having that information thrown about, but he answered none the less. "Hai, I've completed the first stage, but I can barely get an inch with the second stage." Kakashi nodded, having expected as much "Understandable, if I'm not on a Mission when you get back then I'll see if I can give you some pointers. How's progress with the others?" It was all that Naruto could do not to glare at his self appointed Mentor for openly divulging so much information, but none the less, the man was his Superior and wasn't asking for any classified information, so he obliged the Jounin. "I've completed the first step for Futon, as well as Douton, but I'm struggling with finishing the first step of Katon and Raiton. My other Training is coming along as expected as well." Recognizing that Naruto no longer wanted to talk about his training in the open, Kakashi sighed and nodded. "I see, well, I guess that we'll just have to see about fine tuning your control a bit more."

Naruto nodded his consent, before questioning his Sempai about a few logistical issues that he had been wondering about, never noticing the fact that Kakashi had told one of the ANBU Taicho's within the Shadows to observe their conversation. While he might get a verbal reprimand for shirking off his temporary assignment, he knew that the Taicho would be interested in the Gennin, which meant that he'd observe him occasionally and likely (at Kakashi's suggestion, of course) put in a Recommendation of Acceptance for the young Uzumaki to be offered a place within the ANBU after he became a Chuunin.

*East Gate 0745*

Naruto could be seen waiting patiently near the Gate when his Kohais arrived, having performed the little bit of paperwork required prior to their arrival, the three quickly left, making way to Tsumatkui at a decent pace. With their longer than necessary route, it would take them around three hours to reach their destination. Along the way Naruto explained his reasonings for the elongated route, as well as giving a few examples of how such tactics could have prevented In Field Death Rates from being as high as they were, which did little to ease the two less experienced Gennin. Three short hours of travel later, they arrived to the Northern Wall of Tsumatkui, having crept across the River, Naruto Instructed his Kohai to remain silent and to scale the Wall. While they did such, Naruto was on the look out for any patrolling Guards, despite the fact that it was listed as a simple Mission and they were in 'Friendly' territory Naruto was of the opinion that there was no such thing as being overly cautious when it came to such things as potential threat's to his Squad.

Quickly, silently, and without attracting notice from anyone in the town, the three Shinobi made their way to the Mayor's office, having little difficulty infiltrating it whilst the man was on his lunch break. The three only had to wait for a short time before the Mayor returned, surprised to see three Shinobi, especially ones so young, in his office waiting for him. After receiving a quick report on the most recent Bandit sighting, the group left to persue their targets.

*Three Miles South of Tsumatkui 1400*

Maintaining their sense of Stealth, the three young Ninja 'escaped' Tsumatkui undetected, and began their searching just outside of view of the lazy Gate Guard, whom had appeared to be struggling in his fight to remain awake. Their search so far had led to very few results, the Bandit's seemed to be above average with hiding their trail, that being said, Jirobo had managed to find a single Rations Bar wrapper, which was enough to make the three pause. Rations Bar's were typically only ever carried by Ninja, something that was outside of the Scope of the Team's Mission Parameters. Looking at his two Kohai, Naruto spoke "It seems like avoiding the direct route was a good decision, we'll continue forth with discretion. From here on out, Basic Signalling only, unless we become compromised and it's an emergency. For now we'll strictly observe, unless we're under attack then we wait to strike. If the enemy stronghold has anymore than one Chuunin or more than two Gennin, then we'll fallback to Tsumatkui and I'll send a Messenger to inform Konoha of our Mission status and we'll wait for further Orders. In the event that engagement with overwhelming forces is unavoidable, then I will hold the enemy forces while you two escape, this is non-negotiable. Am I understood?" Mitoto and Jirobo's protests were silenced by the glare that their Taicho was sending them daring them to disobey Orders.

Both successfully cowed, they both responded with a reluctant "Hai, Taicho" Nodding his approval, Naruto gave the signal for 'Advance With Caution' and so they began moving quietly, observing everything in the surrounding area, alert for traps and potential enemies now more than ever. Slowly and cautiously, they continued searching until they reach the 'Bandit' encampment, roughly seven miles South and two miles East of Tsumatkui , further than most Bandit's would be willing to travel, another indicater of Shinobi presence among their forces. The observations that the Gennin were capable of making were not in their favor, there were visibly over forty Bandit's two of whom were able to be seen walking about wearing old and rather ragged Flak Jackets indicating at least Chuunin Rank. New information acquired Naruto signaled 'Retreat, Regroup, Await Further Orders' Stealthily reversing their directions, they began their movement back to the 'safety' of Tsumatkui, only to freeze when they heard a horrifying click, Mitoto had stepped on a Post Step Pressure Plate, should she remove her foot, then it would set off an explosive blast that would at the very least maim her, but more likely than not would be the cause of her death.

Mitoto had never been more terrified in her life, she began shaking in fear of what would happen to her if she were to move. Jirobo likewise was terrified for his friend and secret crush's safety, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind. Naruto however, was remembering another Pressure Plate, another Teammate. He knew what needed to be done, breaking silence he started to whisper "Mitoto, everything is going to be alright, I'm going to make a Mizu Bushin, and have it apply pressure to the plate, so that you can move, alright? You're going to be just fine, okay?" Shakily, she nodded her head, watching as her Taicho created a Mizu Bushin and it slowly crawled closer, careful not to set off another charge on it's way to help it's creators Teammate. Arriving at the plate, the Bushin gentling dug some of the dirt that was covering the plate away, noticing a single small finger hold (likely what was used to set the plate) and grabbed hold of the plate barely being able to hold the required amount of pressure to allow Mitoto to take her foot off of the plate. Quickly running over to her Teammates, she engulfed Jirobo in a shaking hug. Naruto however wasn't as joyful as his teammates however, he knew that his Bushin wouldn't be capable of holding the plate in place forever, his decision made he gave his Kohai their Orders' " Jirobo. In my absence, you'll be in charge until stated as such by our Superiors. My Bushin won't be able to hold enough pressure on the plate to avoid it going off for very long, at which point the enemy will be aware of our presence. It's my Duty as your Taicho to ensure the Survival of our Squad, as such I will hold the line of confrontation to this area for as long as possible." Naruto turned his gaze away from his Kohai, not wanting himself to see their horrified eyes, not giving them a chance to respond, Naruto again spoke, this time in his normal tone of voice "There's already someone coming to check on the trap, run and get reinforcements, I'll hold them off. I'll be fine."

Horrified, Mitoto was about to respond in the negative when Jirobo's response shocked her. "H-Hai Taicho, stay strong. Consider those reinforcements on the way." Turning to see her friend's face she saw the saddest yet most determined look that she'd ever seen on the boy, looking back at her Taicho in time to see him nod his head, the two Junior Gennin ran.

Shortly after the departure of his Kohai, Naruto crept forward, just out of the path of the Patrolman who had been assigned to check the traps surrounding their encampment today, waiting for the man to get close, he watched as the man's eyes widened in fear at seeing the clone, as the man opened his mouth to yell out a warning to his comrades, Naruto sprung into action, tackling the man into a roll using the forward momentum, as he'd been shown by Kakashi in one of their most recent Training Sessions, to toss the surprised man to his death via dispelled Mizu Bushin and relieved pressure plate.

Without looking, Naruto was sure that the explosives killed the man, but he had other priorities right now, namely the now mobilizing Bandit's and the two now alert Senior Shinobi.

Quickly completing the Hand Seals for the only Jutsu that Naruto currently had in his arsenal that was capable of engaging multiple enemy's simultaneously, he put his hands to his mouth while mentally yelling out "Suiton: Water Bullet Barrage!" Immediately ten Water Bullets we're spit out, each finding their own purpose ripping threw the bodies of ten approaching Bandit's, not done yet, Naruto reach into his Shuriken and Kunai pouches pulling out a handful of each, only to be forced to dodge a Great Fireball Jutsu, followed up with a Kenjutsu assault by the second Shinobi, Naruto barely was able to make out a scratched out Kusa Forehead Protector before he was forced to Kawimari with a branch hanging from a nearby tree, from his new vantage point Naruto let loose his weapons with a mental shout of "Kage Buki Bushin Jutsu!"Quickly attempting to follow it up with one of his few Fuuton techniques (the Fuuton: Gale Palm) he was forced to abandon the Jutsu in favor of not being bisected by the Missing Nin. Again Kawimari'ing, this time with a small stone some distance away, Naruto quickly back tracked into the treeline, knowing that open combat would be suicide against such forces. Once in the treeline, and momentarily out of sight of the two Missing Nin, as well as the remaining two dozen or so Bandit's, Naruto, as quickly as he could, created ten Mizu Bushin and unsealed his supply scroll each Bushin taking two pouches of Kunai and Shuriken as well as a bundle of Ninja Wire and a single Explosive Tag each, they went off to set enough traps to hopefully stall the enemy long enough for Mitoto and Jirobo to get back to Tsumatkui where they'd hopefully be safe until reinforcements came.

*With Jirobo and Mitoto, Just Over Halfway To Tsumatkui*

The two Gennin had been running as quickly as they could, pushing past the exhaustion that was assaulting their bodies, adrenaline beginning to fade from them, they pushed on. They wouldn't let their Taicho's sacrifice, no his faith in them go to waste. They'd get reinforcements, or they'd die trying.

As they were running, they were suddenly forced to halt by the arrival of a Squad of ANBU, whom though they'd never know we're returning from an intelligence retrieval Mission, panting they Jirobo gave the Konoha Hand Signal for 'Distress' while Mitoto gave the Signal of 'Assist'. The ANBU looked to there Taicho, whom at a silent Signal sent three of his Squadmates onward to Konoha to complete their Mission, while himself and their Squad Medic stayed to help the Gennin.

The ANBU Taicho, Tora, asked the Gennin in a quiet voice "What's happened, where's the rest of your Squad?"

Mitoto, being the first to recover enough breathe to speak explained what had happened, explaining all that she could about the situation, as quickly as possible.

The Tora ANBU, as well as his Medicine Okami, were shock that a Gennin was willing to take on a force so large that even most Chuunin would think twice about even if their sacrifice would offer survival for their Comrades. Each ANBU immediately picked up a Gennin and began a ran that no Gennin would ever be able to keep up with.

A/N

Sorry for taking so long updating, I've been really busy with work and the holidays.

Also, sorry for the cliff hanger, Word deleted the last 1,000 words or so, but I'd honestly considered cutting it off here anyways, to build suspense for next chapter. So I took it as a sign, lol.

Let me know what you think, and what I could stand to improve on.

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Peace.