When you're watching a fight and you see both of the people fighting jump back a few feet from each other, you know that it's about to get really serious. We all watched from our places as sensei and Zabuza both performed the same hand signs, the water in front of them rising up into the air, taking the form of dragons. "Water style: water dragon jutsu!"

Both water dragons began to fight, sending a large tidal wave of water at us, soaking us knocking and knocking me down, sending me flying backwards. The water receded, and I sat up spitting out water. My hair had managed to come untied, so it was plastered to my face due to the water. I stood up and walked back over to the others to watch as Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza continued to fight, wringing my hair out. Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza jumped away from each other and began to run around in a circle, before both stopped and performed the same movements.

"He's just not following," The bridge builder pointed out, "He moves the same way at the same time."

"How's he doing that? How, Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

The Uchiha remained silent, and we all watched in surprise as Kakashi-sensei made Zabuza water clone, before making a couple of more hand signs. "Water style: Giant vortex jutsu!" A giant spiral of water shot out in front of Kakashi-sensei and went straight at Zabuza, hitting him head on. It shot out and hit the land, creating a strong gust of wind as it ran through the trees, shooting more water at us. I got hit with more water, and even more soaked. Zabuza hit a tree, and Kakashi-sensei threw several kunai at him, each one hitting him. But before sensei could finish him, two senbon needles came out of nowhere and hit Zabuza right in the neck, causing him to instantly fall forward.

"Uh…what…what just happened?" I asked, shocked by what had just unfolded. I glanced up at the tree where the needles had come from, my eyes widening when I saw someone in a mask standing in it.

The person bowed to sensei. "Thank you. I've been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him down."

"By your mask, I see that you're a tracker ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi stated is his observation.

The boy straightened back up. "Impressive. You're well informed."

Naruto slid in front of the us. "Ah! A tracker!"

"Naruto, you don't even know what that is." Sakura stated, Naruto glancing at her over his shoulder. "You missed the lesson on it as usual. Tracker ninja have a special role. Try coming to class sometime." Sakura suggested before continuing on with her explanation. "When a rouge ninja breaks away from his village, he carries all kinds of secrets with him, the secrets of his people. Trackers are specially trained to hunt down these ninja and eliminate them. That way, the secrets of their people remain secrets."

"That's correct. I'm a member of the elite tracking unit of the Village Hidden In the Mist. It was my duty to stop Zabuza." The boy explained to us. Naruto ran forward and stopped, glaring up at the masked person and over to sensei, glancing back and forth between the masked person and Zabuza's body.

"What is this? Who do you think you are?" Naruto demanded, pointing a finger at the masked person, all of us gasping at how Naruto was acting. When the boy said nothing, Naruto just grew more frustrated. "Did you hear me?"

Sensei stood up and spoke calmly. "Easy, Naruto. He's not our enemy."

"That's not the point! Did you see what he did, just like that? Zabuza was huge, and powerful like some kind of monster. And this kid, who's no bigger than me…he brought down Zabuza with one move, like it was nothing. I mean, what does that make us? We're just fumbling around! We don't know anything! How can I accept that?" Naruto exclaimed, Kakashi-sensei walking over and stopping in front of him.

"Well, even if you don't accept it…still, it did happen, Naruto." Naruto stared at him blankly and sensei put his hand on his head, ruffling his hair. "In this world, there are kids who are younger than you. And yet…stronger than me."

The tracker disappeared and reappeared in front of Zabuza's body, bending down and heaving the large body up onto his back, glancing over at us. "Your struggle is over for now. I must deal with the remains. There are many secrets in this body. They must not be allowed to get in the wrong hands. Please excuse me. Farwell." And with that said, the tracker disappeared, taking the body with him.

Naruto gasped. "He disappeared!"

"Nice observation." I mumbled sarcastically.

Kakashi-sensei sighed, pulling his headband back down to cover his Sharingan eye, Naruto running over to where the tracker had been, stopping there. "He's gone, Naruto. Let it go."

"URGGHH!" Naruto fell to his knees and began to punch the ground. "What're we doing here? We're nothing! I can't believe it!" He shouted, continuing to hit the ground as if it had done something wrong, all of us just staring at him.

"Naruto…" Sakura mumbled sadly.

Sensei walked over to him and grabbed his arm, stopping him. "As ninja, the things we encounter are never easy. Save your anger for the next enemy." He released his arm and turned back around to look at us. "We haven't completed our mission yet. We still have to get the bridge builder to his bridge."

The bridge builder laughed. "Sorry I caused all this trouble for ya, but uh, you can rest up at my house when we get to the village."

"All right. Let's get a move on." Sensei ordered, taking about 3 steps forward before he stopped and fell face forward onto the ground. All of us gasped, running to him.

"What…what happened?" Sakura asked no one in particular. I knelt down next to Kakashi-sensei, only to find him out cold.

"Looks like someone overdid it a little too much." I stated, sighing loudly. "Looks like were gonna have to carry him. All right," I said, hefting up my sensei from the ground, glancing back over to see my teammates staring at me stupidly. "Well, don't just stand there like idiots and think that I'm gonna do this by myself! Someone grab his other arm!" Sasuke moved forward and grabbed sensei's over arm, draping it over his shoulder, and nodded. "Ok, now we go!"

And so, we began to continue on our journey to the bridge builders house.

Kari sighed happily, snuggling further into the blanket that the bridge builders daughter, whose name was Tsunami, had offered her while her soaked and muddy clothes were being washed and dried, Kari wearing just a regular pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Currently, she was digging through her messenger bag for an extra hair tie, not having much luck at finding one so far. She grumbled in annoyance as another strand of hair fell in her face, blowing it up, only to have it fall back down. Instead of just digging through her bag, she decided to just dump everything out of it, ninja weapons falling out and landing on the floor with a clatter, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's attention going to their teammate as she continued her search.

Sasuke sighed in annoyance by all the noise she was making. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a hair tie. When that big wave hit us, my hair came lose and my hair tie got lost." Kari explained, looking under all of her bags contents.

"How come you just don't leave it down? I mean, it's long enough, and it makes you look kinda cute." Sakura complimented.

Kari stopped looking, glancing over at her pink haired comrade before standing up and walking into the bathroom to stare at herself in the mirror. Her hair was long alright. Too long for her liking. It had managed to grow down past her shoulders, almost reaching her lower back. She frowned at her reflection, replacing the image of herself with another woman for a moment before walking back out of the bathroom and picking up a kunai from her bag.

"So, are you gonna leave it down?" Sakura asked curiously.

Kari didn't answer her, only measured her hair until she reached her shoulders, taking her hair in her hand and putting the kunai to it, chopping off the hair she had measured up to her shoulders, Sakura gasping while Sasuke and Naruto stared at her with wide eyes. No one said anything as they watched her walk over to the garbage can and throw the hair in it, walking back over to her bag and began putting everything back in it.

"Why'd…why'd you cut it?" Sakura asked.

Kari sent her a smile. "Having long hair…just doesn't suit me. It makes me look like someone I'd rather not look like. Besides, long hair is a hassle to take care of." Kari explained, putting the kunai back in her pouch. "Hey, Sakura? You wouldn't happen to have a hair tie with you, would you?"

Sakura blinked. "Uh…yeah, actually. Here." Sakura said, pulling off a small hair tie from her wrist and handing it to Kari.

"Thank you." Kari said, pulling her hair up and tying it into a messy ponytail. Kari continued placing everything back in her bag, stopping as she picked up a piece of paper. She flipped it over, realizing that it was actually a picture. Her smile she had been wearing disappeared as she stared down at it, turning into a frown, remembering the day the picture had been taken.

Flashback~6 years ago~

"What are you doing, Hikari?"

Hikari looked over at the one who had asked the question, grinning happily. "Making you a pretty flower crown, momma. See?" Kari said, holding out the item to show her mother.

She laughed. "It's very nice. I can't wait to try it on."

"What about me, munchkin? Don't I get something made out of flowers, too?"

"Mhmm! But you have to wait for me to finish mommy's first, okay, daddy?"

He laughed at her statement. "Okay, Hikari."

She smiled, looking over at her younger sibling. "Konohamaru, I'll make you something, too!"

The 2 year old stared up at the older girl, not understanding what she was saying to him, but still giving her a grin.

"Hey, how about we take a quick picture?" Her father suggested, pulling a camera out from the bag he had brought, moving over to set it down on a flat surface, setting the timer on it. "Okay, smile and say cheese."

Kari smiled as her mother and father both held her to them, Konohamaru in her lap. "Cheese!"

*SNAP*

Present day~

"…ari! Kari!"

Kari jumped slightly, glancing up to see Sakura waving a hand in front of her. "Huh?"

"I've been calling your name for at least a minute. You spaced out or something."

Kari sheepishly smiled, placing the picture back in her bag. "Sorry."

"Anyway, sensei is awake now, so we're gonna go talk to him." Sakura said, helping Kari up off the floor and leading her to the room the sensei was in.

He glanced at them as they walked into the room. "Oh, there they are."

"Listen, sensei, your Sharingan is amazing and everything, but if it puts that much strain on you, maybe it's not worth it." Sakura said as she knelt down next to him.

"Sorry…" Kakashi mumbled tiredly.

"Heh, well you did take down one of the most powerful ninja assassins, so we'll be safe for awhile." Tazuna said from where he was standing, fanning himself with a paper fan.

"Right, but…you know that boy with the mask? What about him?"

"He's from the elite tracking unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist. Those masks are only worn by the elite shinobi." Kakashi said, frowning slightly.

"What exactly do they do?" Sakura asked.

Kari opened her mouth before Kakashi could explain. "The ANBU Black Opps, or the Inferno squad, destroy all traces of a rouge ninjas corpse. See, a shinobi's body contains all sorts of secrets, like ninjustu, chakra, special medicenes used on his body, all the following are secrets of his village. If his enemies find him, then his people will be put in grave danger."

"For instance," Kakashi began, "if I were to die at the hands of an enemy, he would try to analyze my Sharingan. In the worst case, my entire jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the shinobi trackers to prevent this. To keep the village secrets safe. If a ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him, and obliterate every trace of his existence. That's their specialty."

The Forest of Chakra

Kari frowned slightly as a thought came to mind. 'But something doesn't add up with that kid in the mask…from what grandpa told me about how the black opps and tracker ninja work, he said that when they kill the rouge ninja, they have to get rid of the body right away…so…why'd that kid take it off somewhere?'

"To finish what I was saying, tracker ninja deal with the body immediately, on the spot, so there's no room for error." Kakashi finished.

"Is that really important?" Sakura asked.

"Think about it: do you remember what that tracker did with Zabuza's body?"

Kari's eyes narrowed. "He took it off somewhere."

"Exactly. But why? He should've worked on Zabuza right there, as quickly as possible. Think of the weapons he used for the takedown. Do you remember what they were?"

"Throwing needles." Sasuke answered, before a frown appeared on his face. "No way…"

"Exactly. None of it adds up." Kakashi stated, rubbing his temples.

"But, wait…those needles weren't just your normal throwing needles, sensei. They were senbon needles, and I'm positive they were because Genma is always chewing on one wherever he goes." Kari pointed out.

"What're you all yammering about? You demolished that assassin." Tazuna stated.

"Here's the truth: Zabuza is still alive."

Tazuna, Sakura, and Naruto all screamed in shock, Kari and Sasuke frowning. "But we saw his body! Believe it!"

"Kakashi-sensei, you checked him yourself. You said that his heart stopped!" Sakura reminded.

"His heart did stop. But…that was just a temporary state to simulate death. Like Hikari just said, the weapons that tracker used are called senbon. They can pierce deeply, but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ, not in the neck. They're modified for needles used for medical treatments, like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body. Causing the heart to stop temporarily while keeping the body alive is an easy matter for them. First, he carried Zabuza's body away, even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used senbon, which have a precise effect, but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza…He was trying to save him."

"Come on. You're over thinking this, aren't you?" Tazuna asked.

"Encountering suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster. Every shinobi knows this saying." Kakashi explained.

"Sensei, you said prepare quickly, but how can we do that when you can barely move?" Sakura asked, pointing out the one dilemma they had.

Kakashi laughed. "I can still train you."

"Hold on! A little last minute training won't make us strong enough to fight Zabuza!" Sakura exclaimed, frowning angrily. "You could barely defeat, even with your Sharingan! We have to be reasonable about this!"

"Sakura," Kakashi began, "Why was I able to stop Zabuza? Because…You all helped me. You've grown. Naruto."

"Huh?"

Kakashi leaned forward and smiled. "You've grown the most."

"So you noticed, Kakashi-sensei. Now things are gonna get better, believe it!"

"I don't believe it! And nothings gonna be good!" Someone shouted, everyone turning around to see a little boy standing in the doorway.

Naruto stared at him for a moment before pointing at him. "Who are you?"

"Ah, Inari! Where've you been?" Tazuna asked the boy, who climbed up onto the platform and ran to the old man for a hug.

"Welcome back, grandpa!"

Tsunami walked over to them, an angry frown on her face. "Inari, that was very rude! These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely."

Tazuna began to pat the little boys hat. "It's ok, it's ok. I'm rude to them too." Tazuna said, laughing slightly.

Inari stared at Naruto, Sakura, Kari, and Sasuke for a minute, his eyes holding a somewhat angry look in them before he turned to face his mother. "Mom, don't you see? These people are gonna die! Gato and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out."

Naruto stood up abruptly. "What'd you say, brat?"

"Oh, boy…" Kari mumbled.

"Listen up! You know what a super ninja is? Well, that's me, only a lot better. I'm gonna be Hokage! This Gato or Blato, or whatever he's called, is no match for a real hero like me!"

Kari and Sakura sweat dropped. "He sure is full of himself…" Sakura mumbled.

"You got that right…"

"Hah. There's no such thing as a hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!" Inari exclaimed.

Naruto moved forward. "What'd you say?"

Sakura grabbed him, "Naruto, calm down!"

"If you wanna stay alive, you should go back where you came from." Inari said, turning around and walking toward the doors, Kari staring at his back sadly.

"Inari, wait, where're you going?" Tazuna asked.

"To look out at the ocean. I wanna be alone!" With that said, he walked out of the room, leaving Tazuna and Tsunami apologizing for his behavior, Sakura still holding Naruto back.

'That kid is the exact opposite of Konohamaru. Instead of being happy, he just acts like he's always sad…Poor little guy…'

Several hours later~

"All right, training starts now."

"Right!"

"First, we will begin with a review of chakra, the ninjas basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential."

Sasuke sighed. "We know that."

Naruto nodded and smiled. "He's right! A long time ago, we learned about…" He paused, thinking for a moment before continuing. "Catra!"

"Chakra…" Kakashi corrected, gesturing to Sakura. "Go ahead, Sakura."

While Sakura explained how Chakra worked, Kari played around with a Kunai until she was finished explaining, putting the weapon back in her pouch.

"Gah! What's the big deal with all these complicated explanations? The whole point is to learn the jutsu, isn't it?" Naruto asked, Sasuke agreeing with him on.

"Naruto's right, for once. We're already using chakra energy in our jutsu."

"No! You have not mastered this power, you can barely scratch the surface of it." Kakashi said, Sasuke now looking at him curiously.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Naruto screamed, his face showing panic.

"Calm down and listen. It's just like Sakura said; You have to draw on physical and spiritual energies, and then combine them within yourself. BUT, how do you do that?" Kakashi asked his students.

"Oh, I know!" Kari exclaimed.

"Well, then go on ahead and explain to us, Hikari."

"See, each jutsu requires different types of chakra in different amounts. You have to select and combine them in exactly the right way."

"Right on the dot, Hikari. Up to now, you've just guessed at the proportions, hoping they would come out right. Even if you produce a lot of chakra, unless you can balance and control it, it's all worthless. The jutsu won't work at all, or it'll just be a joke. You waste so much energy that way, then you're out of chakra, and you can't fight at all. You're just a target."

"Uh…so how do we change that?" Naruto asked.

"Train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature. To achieve this goal, you must be ready to put your life on the line."

"What…do we have to do?" Sakura asked slowly.

Kakashi chuckled. "Climb a tree."

"Climb a tree?" All four Genin repeated.

"That's right. But, there's just one rule; no hands."

Kari's confusion disappeared, beginning to figure out what he meant. "Oh…I think I know what you mean…"

"Do you? Would you like to demonstrate, since I'm sure someone already taught you this?" Kakashi asked.

Kari nodded. "Well, if you insist…" She made a hand sign and walked over to the tree, putting her foot to it and beginning to walk up the side of the trunk.

"She's climbing!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Straight up." Sakura pointed out, "And she's only using her feet!"

Kari only made it half-way up until she lost control and fell, doing a flip and landing on her feet. "Heh, I still have yet to climb to the very top."

Kakashi patted her on the head, hobbling past her and climbing up the tree himself, hanging upside on the branch. "Well, at least you all get the idea now. Focus your chakra towards the soles of your feet, and use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra."

"Wait a minute! That's a nice trick, but how does it help us fight Zabuza?"

"It's the only way to fight him, Sakura. That's the entire goal of this training. If you can master this, you can master any jutsu. Well…theoretically. The second point is to learn how to maintain chakra levels. When a ninja is focused in battle, it's even harder to control and maintain chakra levels, a deadly mistake. To avoid this, maintaining chakra must become second nature, effortless. Well, I can talk about this all day, but that won't advance your skills, will it? You need to apply the power of chakra through training." He threw down four kunai, one landing in front of each of the Genin. "Use the Kunai knife to mark the tree at the highest point you can climb, without using your hands. Then, try to get past that mark the next time, and the next."

'So this won't be too easy, huh? Great…'

"At first, you'll need to run at the tree so your momentum can take you as high as possible…until you get used to it. Ready?"

The four pulled the kunai knives out of the ground. "I'm more than ready, this is gonna be no sweat! Believe it! Remember what you said, sensei; I'm the one who's grown the most."

"You're definitely the one who talks the most, now get focused and do it." Kakashi ordered.

The four Genin all made hand signs, closing their eyes and maintaining their concentration to the soles of their feet. Naruto was the first person to break the silence. "I've got it! CHHHHAAARGE!" He cried, running forward, the others doing as he did. Kari laughed as Naruto only got two steps up the tree before falling on his head. She continued laughing the entire way, making it up to the entire top this time.

"Hey, this is fun!" Sakura called to them down below, Sasuke, Naruto's, and the sensei's attention going to Sakura, who was happily sitting in the branch high above.

"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed.

She giggled, sticking her tongue out at them.

"Well, looks like one of the female members of the squad is the most advanced in chakra control. Well done, Sakura." Kakashi complimented. "Now, what about Hikari?"

Everyone turned their attention over to the Sarutobi girl, who was leaning against the tree, still laughing. She finally managed to stop long enough to breath. "Oh…oh, man! HAHAHAHA! Naruto, you should really fall like that more often! It's hilarious! HAHAHA! And motivating!" She laughed in between, sitting down on the branch and shaking her head, silently laughing while Naruto frowned, not having been able to understand her at all.

"Well, make that both female members of our squad that have perfect chakra control. Nice job, Hikari."

"Yeah, good going Sakura and Hikari!" Naruto complimented.

"Did you see when he fell! HAHAHAH!" Kari giggled.

Sasuke gave a careless glance to the side. "Whatever…"

"Well, not only do Hikari and Sakura understand chakra, they can control and maintain it as well. We spoke about someone becoming Hokage one day, didn't we? Seems Sakura and Hikari both have the best chance at that, wouldn't you say? And as for the great Uchiha clan…Maybe they're not so great after all."

"Shut-up, sensei, you talk too much!" Sakura shouted angrily.

Kari stopped laughing at last and simply smiled down at the boys. "C'mon guys! You can do it!"

Naruto smirked. "All right! First I'll match Sasuke, then I'm going all the way to the top! Believe it!"

A/N: Crappy, I know, but hopefully it won't be next chapter! Please leave a review!