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The Mission/The Journey Abroad

"Is there any better mission for us?"


It had been a whole month since Team Seven had officially become a genin team. For all this time they had done nothing more than meager D-rank missions - and the term "mission" was used very lightly here. Apparently these were supposed help the team work better together, but not one of them understood how it worked. These weren't missions for ninjas; these were chores for everyday people!

This was the reason the team now stood in the mission assignment room after returning a pesky, little cat named Tora to its owner, Madam Shijimi. They had chased the thing for two hours and had finally caught it, only to find out why it ran away in the first place. The lady hugged the cat tightly in delight, smothering it against her chest while the animal tried to desperately get away. After paying she left, but everyone present knew the cat would return to haunt the village soon enough. It was shocking the cat hadn't been in an unfortunate "accident" yet.

The room itself was a huge, open space with six windows and a high ceiling with two stick-like lights. There was a long table where the Third Hokage and some other ninjas sat at, distributing missions to teams and other ninjas.

Now it was time for a new assignment, something Team Seven was not so eager for.


"Good job catching that cat, Kakashi!" the Hokage congratulated. He was an old man, wearing a white robe and a large hat. His name was Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Next up there's-"

"Hokage, sir!" Naruto interrupted rudely, speaking to the village leader for the first time in his life. He had always stayed silent when Team Seven had been here, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

Kakashi wondered what was going on in his head. His interruption earned him many angry glares from other ninjas present, while the Hokage himself seemed only curious.

"Is there any better mission for us?" Naruto asked, glancing at his teammates who nodded. "Picking weeds and painting fences really isn't suited for ninjas like us."

Sarutobi gave them a smile and a light chuckle. He whispered something to the ninja next to him who hurried out of the room. "I believe I have just the mission for you. A C-rank one."

"Lord Hokage, are you sure of this?" asked Kakashi, worried. "Surely there is some D-rank mission we-" His students gave him a mean glare, and he shut up. No point in arguing, especially with the Hokage.

A moment later the ninja came back, followed by an old man. He sat down next to the Hokage, while the man stood next to Team Seven, drinking his sake and even reeking of it. The man had grey hair, spectacles and a mustache. He wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt, pants and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head. Not a local, that much was obvious.

"These guys are supposed to my bodyguards?" the man asked, incredulous. He eyed every one of them with surprise and doubt. "Kids? You can't be serious!"

To their credit, none of his students reacted with more than an angry look. Kakashi had expected them to start spewing insults and angry comments; so different from all the previous teams he had failed.

"Rookies they might still be," said the Hokage, "but Kakashi here is an experienced jounin. I have no doubt of their ability to protect you."

Kakashi nodded, flattered by the praise. "What is our mission then, if I may ask, Lord Hokage?"

"You are to escort Tazuna here to Land of Waves and help him finish his bridge."

"That's it?" Kakashi was more than surprised that their mission was that simple. At least it didn't seem that difficult, and as a C-rank mission the worst they might encounter were bandits, but a ninja was always supposed to be ready for anything. They could run into anyone on the way to another country, after all.

"That's it, Kakashi. You can leave as soon as you are ready. Good luck!"

Kakashi bowed curtly and led his team outside with Tazuna in tow. They made quick plans to meet outside the village gates the next morning, after which they would start their trek to Land of Waves.

Hopefully, Tazuna would be sober by then.


Naruto paced around, agitated. It was almost noon, and there was still no sign of Kakashi or Tazuna. What was the point of telling people to meet in a specific place at a specific time when he wasn't going to be there on time himself?

"Naruto, stop that!" Sakura yelled. She was leaning against a big rock at the side of the dirt road some fifteen meters from the gates; while Sasuke sat on top of it, staring into the distance silently. "It's annoying!"

"And so are you!" Naruto retorted, stopping his pacing to face the pink haired banshee. Why did she have to yell at him every time he did something?

"Both of you, stop it!" shouted Sasuke, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

Naruto said nothing, and neither did Sakura. They glared angrily at each other for a while before turning away. Sakura had the interesting tendency to either bother Sasuke or annoy Naruto. It was like all she did was annoy people in more ways than one.

Nothing happened for a long time before Kakashi and Tazuna finally appeared. Tazuna was carrying a small brown backpack, likely filled with his belongings, but it couldn't possibly have taken them this long to pack.

"Sorry, we're a bit late!" Kakashi greeted with a wave of his hand and a smile. "Had to wait for Tazuna to sober up."

Naruto could already feel in his bones that Sakura was but a moment away from screaming at their teacher for his tardiness like she always did. Thankfully Sasuke had the foresight to stop her in time when he jumped down from the rock.

"Are you sure these kids are really ninjas?" asked Tazuna, still in doubt. What was with the old man, anyways? Why did he need ninjas to build a bridge? They weren't construction workers.

"They are," Kakashi replied simply. "The best the village has to offer! You don't have to worry about your safety one bit."

"I hope you're right."

Naruto eyed the old man, his suspicions rising. There was something he wasn't telling, that much was clear, but there was no way to prove it right now. He was sure Kakashi at least had noted the same, and Sasuke also. Sakura wouldn't notice anything if it didn't concern "her" Sasuke. Why she had graduated, he'd never know - then again, who was he to talk?

"All right, team! Let's go!" Kakashi exclaimed.


They had traveled for several hours nonstop, yet to Sasuke it felt like an eternity. He was bored as hell with nothing to do other than keep walking.

Kakashi and Tazuna were discussing something among themselves, walking at the front of the group. Sakura was quietly walking next to him, too tired to try hitting on him. Just behind them walked Naruto, silent as usual. None of them had spoken for hours, having nothing to talk about or being too bored for it. At least the adults were having a good time.

As they went on, Sasuke noticed something weird further down the dirt road: two puddles of water. It hadn't rained for weeks, which meant the water should have evaporated ages ago; unless someone had dumped a large amount of water here recently, no more than five minutes ago at best. It was highly suspicious, but Sasuke decided not to mention about it, trusting that if this was indeed an ambush Kakashi would notice it.

When they were only five meters from the puddles, Sasuke noticed a shift in Kakashi's stance; he tensed and glanced around furtively, his hand reaching for a kunai, preparing to engage any attackers that might reveal themselves. Tazuna remained oblivious, not realising the jounin was expecting an immediate ambush.

"Guys, I, uhhh, need to tie up my shoelaces!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, lagging behind. "I'll catch up in a moment."

The group stopped just before reaching the puddles and turned to look at him. He dropped to one knee and began to fiddle with his boots several meters away from them.

"Okay, Naruto." Kakashi sighed, likely worrying about Naruto's safety in case the ambush did happen. "Don't take too long!"

Naruto gave a thumbs up, and the others continued to walk.

It didn't take more than a second or two before Sasuke felt Sakura tap his shoulder and whisper something to his ear. It was not some attempt to flirt with him but something that made his eyes widen. "Uhh, Sasuke, Naruto doesn't have shoelaces."

Immediately Sasuke's own mind realised that Naruto's boots had a strap or two, but no shoelaces. Next it reminded him how obvious it was that the puddles weren't natural; how even Sakura had eyed them with suspicion. Then it concluded that Naruto was planning to attack their ambushers from behind.

Sasuke turned around instantly, just in time to witness two ninjas do the impossible and rise up from the shallow puddles.

"Ambush!" he yelled and drew a kunai from his pouch. Behind him Sakura and Kakashi did the same, pushing panicking Tazuna behind them to better protect him.

The ninjas had shoulder-length, wild dark-brown hair and dark eyes. They wore a rebreather that covered the lower half of their faces and a large, clawed gauntlet on one of their arms with a long chain connecting to the gauntlet worn by the other in the opposite arm. They also wore a camouflage suit with bandages around their waists and dark-colored, knee-length sandals. One wore a ragged black cape, while the other had several pouches around his waist. They wore headbands with the symbol of Kiri on them, with the caped one having a single horn on it, while the other had two.

They charged forward without a word, until suddenly:

Bang!

Everyone froze, wondering what the sound was and where it came from.

Then the cape wearing ninja collapsed face first onto the dirt, blood pooling around his head from a hole at the back of it. He was dead quickly and painlessly.

"Brother?" the remaining ninja asked weakly, staring at his partner's still body in horror. "How?" He turned around to see who might have killed him and came to stare directly at the weapon that could kill a man in an instant.

Bang!

The last ninja's head snapped back, blood leaking from a newfound hole in his forehead and staining his face and clothes red. He was dead long before he hit the ground.

Naruto frowned as he lowered his weapon to his side. Now that it was out of its case, they could finally see what it looked like.

The weapon was mostly rectangular in shape and had a part that separated diagonally from the main body near the end, serving as a grip. It was mainly black or dark brown in color, while the lower side and the part after the grip were yellow. There was also a red trim on the grip and some other parts.

Naruto aimed his weapon to the side of road, looking around suspiciously, clearly expecting another ambush, and then crouched down to inspect their fallen assailants. Sasuke joined him, wanting to ask about his weapon, but he was interrupted just as he opened his mouth.

"Tazuna," Kakashi said as he put away his kunai and turned to face the old man. "These ninjas were obviously after you. Mind telling us why?"

"Y-you can't know that! They could be simple opportunists, that's all! Nothing to do with me!"

Kakashi glared at him. "Then why are you so nervous and defensive all of sudden?"

"I-I don't know what you mean!" Tazuna shouted hesitantly, waving his hands in front of him. Kakashi's glare intensified, aided by the glares of the others. "All right, all right. I confess."

Sasuke and Sakura put away their kunai as Tazuna began to explain. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Naruto holster his weapon and turn to look at the trees that lined the road for any more assailants, scratching his chin in thought.

"My country was somewhat prosperous with the aid of Gato, the founder of Gato Company. In an effort to increase commerce and trade with other countries, we - together with the other citizens - decided to build a bridge that connects to the mainland, Land of Fire to be specific. However, some outlaws got wind of our plan and decided to take over our country when he were halfway done. They do everything they can to stop us from completing the construction, relying on the isolation of Land of Waves to continue their reign of terror. Everyone is too afraid and powerless to stand up against them, which is why I needed your help."

"Why didn't you inform the Hokage then?" asked Kakashi sternly, narrowing his eye. "He could have sent ninjas to liberate you. Not to mention, why did you label this a C-rank mission when it clearly wasn't?"

"Because I had no more money! That's all we could gather without arousing suspicion. They would have killed us all if any of them even suspected foreigners were coming to help the populace."

"And our presence won't arouse any suspicion?"

As he walked back to the others, Sasuke noted that Kakashi curiously chose not to point out Tazuna had ignored his very valid question about informing the Hokage.

"Only if you get into an open conflict. We could try to lure their leader out of hiding and neutralize him. That would rally the citizens and break the morale of his goons. The only problem is that the leader is an experienced ninja. These two must have been his scouts or some other subordinates."

There was a long silence before Kakashi sighed and turned to his students. "What do you think? Should we continue our mission?"

Sasuke thought about the situation. On the one hand, their client had lied about their mission's details and they were no longer obligated to continue; on the other hand the lives and freedom of an entire country depended on them. By law they should turn back, but in doing so would let a band of killers and other scum rule unopposed.

"You said it yourself, Kakashi," said Sasuke, making up his mind. "Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are lower than that."

"In this case the word 'comrades' refers to innocent citizens," said Sakura, nodding. "We can't just leave them to suffer!"

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Naruto asked, his arms crossed over his chest. He had finally walked back to his team, but hadn't stopped looking around, his hand gripping his weapon, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice.

Kakashi smiled and nodded, probably thinking how proud of them he was.

"Really?" asked Tazuna, eyes wide in delight and surprise. "Y-you would really help us?"

"Of course," said Kakashi. "Now, let's go."


It was almost dawn when they reached the boat that would take them to Land of Waves. The rower was another citizen of Wave who had helped Tazuna slip away unseen, and was dressed in virtually the same clothes but with a thicker shirt. He had stayed behind with his boat on a tiny beach, hidden from curious eyes by clever use of the surrounding terrain. In the distance, a thick fog was starting roll in, hiding the barely visible Land of Waves from sight.

"Quickly, everyone! We have to hurry before the fog lifts and their guards can see the boat coming."

The rower pushed the boat off the beach as he explained further details. He told them how the fog wouldn't last long and that they needed to be on the other side on the double. There was no time to waste here.

"Quickly now!"

Team Seven climbed onto the boat after Tazuna and the rower, taking their seats quietly, anxious to get going. Every moment they spent on the way to the shore increased the chances of someone seeing them and destroying their transportation, along with them most likely.

Slowly the boat began to move forward, the rower doing his best to minimize the amount of noise they would make. According to him, there was no telling how many people were guarding the shores, which was why he had instructed everyone to stay quiet.

To the south, a large, incomplete bridge could be seen. Tazuna said it was his bridge, halfway done like he had explained previously. It would take a long time to finish, even without considering the circumstances.

Some time later the rower slowed down further and whispered, "We are nearing the shore. Get ready to jump off." He was looking around nervously, watching for any signs of patrolling sentries.

The boat hit the rocky bottom with a slight bump, and immediately Team Seven was out, making sure the area was safe. The concealing fog was already starting to lift, leaving them in the open soon.

"I'll hide the boat and sneak back into the town," the rower told Tazuna as the latter jumped off. "Good luck and be safe!"

"You, too!"

Team Seven and their charge left the man and his boat behind in a hurry, disappearing into the woods that made up a large part of the country's ecosystem. They still had a long trek ahead of them, unknown dangers lurking behind every corner.


Done!

How did you like the changes I made to the Wave Arc? I didn't want it to be like it almost always is, so I figured: if Danzo is a good guy then why not Gato, too?

Bye!

Fun Fact: Originally Zabuza would've attacked the boat with the water dragon bullet technique and thrown everyone over board. It would've also revealed that Naruto can't swim.