Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Rurouni Kenshin or Chrono Cross. I am writing this purely to see reader reaction and for fun. I make no financial profit doing this.

Chapter 10 – Mission to Wave

It's been nearly a month now since Kakashi had passed Team 7 as an official Genin team for Konoha. Nearly a month of doing D-Rank missions, meaning chores, around the village. Contrary to most, Naruko really didn't mind doing them. Her Shadow Clones, inhuman stamina and speed made what should have been hour long jobs take ten minutes max. The actual Naruko didn't even have to be along to do the mission, and most of the time, she really wasn't. Letting her clones handle things while she went into her mindscape to continue her Jutsu training with Mune.

Painting, trash pickup, training ground cleanup and restoration, babysitting, item pickup and delivery, whatever it was Team 7 did it either faster or better than most. It was even starting to improve overall public opinion of her, which was definitely an unexpected bonus that made her somewhat uneasy. She didn't know how to react to this, having spent her entire life being shunned by the villagers.

Currently they were on their most interesting mission yet. Finding and capturing Madam Shijimi's cat Tora. The Fire Daimyo's wife had arrived in Konoha yesterday evening with her guards and some of the Royal Family's advisors to inspect the village and do other political things Naruko didn't have to worry about. When Tora went missing she had requested Naruko's team specifically for the task, knowing just how fast and clever the girl was.

"Happy in position." Naruko really didn't understand the need for radios and such complicated plans to capture Tora. The brown cat was right there in front of her, she could snatch him up in less than a second if Kakashi would let her.

"Moody in position." She heard Sasuke over the radio. She could practically hear the glower on his face.

"Friendly in position." It had taken them about ten minutes to find the cat in the forests within the village, and that was with the Byakugan. Naruko was happier than ever that Hinata was on her team. She did not like the thought of searching for one specific brown cat that could be anywhere in the village without such an asset available.

"Scarecrow copies, move on three. One...two…three!"

The Genin all launched from their positions, converging on Tora. To all of their great surprise Tora became a blur darting between their clutches, nearly making them collide with each other as they tried to correct their paths. Sasuke managed to grab one of his paws, making the cat turn into something reminiscent of a buzz saw with fur. Judging from the cuts and scratches being opened up all over Sasuke's arms and face, Tora's claws were rather sharp, especially for a housecat.

The surprise clawing made Sasuke yelp in pain and surprise, dropping Tora who quickly dashed away. Hinata intercepted the cat picking it up around its middle. Naruko saw Tora's claws once again reveal themselves and moved quickly, taking the cat from Hinata before it could claw up the girl.

Tora snarled and hissed in displeasure, trying to bury its claws in Naruko's arms. Naruko's Tekko actually let off a few sparks at his insistent clawing before Naruko put a stop to it.

"Oi Tora! Bad boy! Stop that right now!" She said in the tone she used whenever Konohamaru and his friends were up to something they shouldn't be, or whenever their babysitting missions required it. Tora quickly ceased his assault, cringing slightly with a pitiful mew.

She turned him so he could see Hinata. "That's Hinata-Chan. She is one of the nicest people on the planet and doesn't deserve to be scratched up like you were about to do." Her voice became much less stern, approving even, "On the other hand," She turned him towards Sasuke who was clutching at his slightly bleeding face and arms. "This is Uchiha Sasuke who is a complete dick and well deserved such retribution." She cradled Tora in her arms, scratching at his ears and getting a purr.

"Shut up Uzumaki! Just heal these up already will ya?"

Normally Naruko would ignore him, but between Hinata's hopeful expression and her need to practice the healing Jutsu taught to her by Mune, she let it go.

Concentrating for a moment, she collecting some holy energy and directed it at Sasuke. "Hijutsu: Kaifuku Suru. (Recover)" Before their eyes the scratches and welts sealed and faded. It was sure taking awhile, but her mastery of the healing abilities Mune was teaching her was progressing steadily.

"Better princess?" Naruko asked in a mocking tone.

"Naruko-Chan…" Came Hinata's light rebuff. It had become something of a routine for Team 7. Naruko or Sasuke doing something mean to each other and Hinata trying to make them stop.

"Hn. Let's just go turn in the mission already."

Just then Kakashi dropped down into the clearing they were standing in. "Congratulations guys, only twenty minutes. That's a new record; the fastest time had been forty eight minutes, set a few years ago."

"Well, Tora-Chan's known me for four years now, so we had an edge. So back to the Hokage Tower?"

Kakashi nodded and they quickly made their way to report back in. The closer they got the more agitated Tora became, prompting further petting and a firmer hold from Naruko.

"Team 7 reporting in. D-Rank to Retrieve Madam Shijimi's cat Tora is a success." Kakashi announced in a somewhat disinterested tone.

The Chuunin on duty all looked at them incredulously. "But you just left not even a half hour ago! How are you done already!?" They looked like they wanted to call bullshit at Kakashi's claim, but the disgruntled looking cat was purring right there in Naruko's arms.

The lead Chuunin shook his head in disbelief and sent one of his men to go inform the Hokage and Madam Shijimi, while he distributed their pay. They weren't waiting for long until the client was bursting her way into the room, rushing straight for Tora who was again trying to scramble his way to freedom.

"Oh there you are Tora-Chan! Mommy was so worried for you when she couldn't find you! Don't you ever run off on your own like that again!" Everyone there watched the poor feline being crushed to the woman's bosom, most feeling like they should be doing something to stop it, while secretly enjoying the sight of one of their most frequent problems being punished.

"And this is the fastest you've ever been found! I knew I had the right idea requesting Naruko-Chan's team." She said patting Naruko's head and surprising everyone at how close the village Jinchuuriki apparently was to their Daimyo's wife.

"Madam Shijimi, can I make a suggestion? I think I may know why Tora-Chan's always running off." Naruko said, her hair slightly pushed over her eyes under the woman's pats.

"Of course Naruko-Chan, I've been wondering this myself for years."

"I think you may not be aware of your own strength Madam Shijimi. Tora is just a tiny cat, and you give him such enthusiastic hugs that I think your unintentionally crushing him."

"Hmm?" Shijimi looked at Tora in her arms and then gasped in horror, realizing for the first time that she might be hurting her precious pet. Tora did indeed look rather miserable now that she took the time to really look at him while he was in her arms. She proceeded to apologize and coo over him unrelentingly, slowly getting the brown cat to relax in her much gentler grasp.

Everyone in the room that wasn't a rookie Genin was now staring at Naruko in complete awe. Kakashi, the Chuunin handling mission distribution and reception, Madam Shijimi's guards, and all the veteran Genin teams had just witnessed Naruko single handedly end the persistent Tora Retrieval mission cycle.

"Bye Madam Shijimi! Tell Moe-Chan I say hi!" Naruko waved goodbye cheerily as the Chuunin doorman dazedly delivered the standard 'thank you for your patronage' spiel.

As soon as the door closed everyone there who didn't have an image to maintain cheered loudly, several Shinobi coming up to Naruko with a pat on the back or shoulder and congratulations and thank you's.

The Genin could only wonder what the heck the big deal was. It certainly didn't seem like anything significant. Later on they would hear horror stories from their fellow rookies and people who had had to retrieve Tora before and learn just why it was so momentous.

"So what now Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Hmm…" Kakashi stroked his masked chin as he considered his team carefully. It was still quite early in the day, just a bit into the afternoon. They could take another D-Rank easily. Hell, they could take like twenty D-Ranks with Naruko's Shadow Clones depending on the mission type. But it had almost been a month of the team doing these chores, so maybe they had settled enough with the team dynamic to move on to C-Ranks.

"Now…" he paused trying to get a rise out of them. It took a few minutes of his silent staring for Hinata to finally react.

"Er, Sensei?"

Inwardly lamenting his collected and patient team he continued. "Now, we go and inform Hokage-Sama that Team 7 is ready to begin taking C-Rank missions."

This got a cheer from Naruko, what qualified for a grin from Sasuke, and a bashful smile from Hinata.

Team 7 arrived at and was waved into the Hokage's office shortly.

"What can I do for you Kakashi?" The Sandaime looked up from the paperwork he was going over, glasses perched on his nose.

Kakashi gave a lazy salute, "I'm here to report that Team 7 is now available for C-Rank missions, and on that note, request a C-Rank mission. Also, you really missed something down at the Mission Distribution Center a few minutes ago." Kakashi patted Naruko on the head affectionately. "Naruko-Chan has single handedly ended the Tora Retrieval mission cycle. Her influence with Madam Shijimi is surprising."

The Sandaime laughed, "Oh I saw alright. When we were informed that Tora had been retrieved in less than half the time of the previous record, I had to see for my own eyes the results." He gestured towards his Crystal Ball, getting a nod of understanding.

"So, Team 7 is now cleared for C-Ranks." He nodded at one of his aides who found Team 7's file and made a mark in it. "And it just so happens that we have a C-Rank Escort Mission available. Takenaka Tazuna has requested a Shinobi Escort and protection detail against bandits and other unsavory elements for his return trip to the Land of Waves and while he finishes constructing his bridge connecting his country to the Mainland. Eboshi, please retrieve Tazuna-San." Another one of his aides saluted and left.

A short while later an older man with grey hair and a beard, carrying a bottle of Sake walked into the room. Although he looked a bit unkempt, and rough around the edges, he still looked in healthy and fit condition.

"Tazuna-San, this is the team that will be taking on your mission. Hatake Kakashi is one of our villages best Jounin, and his Genin are all very skilled."

Tazuna didn't look impressed. "You're sending these kids to protect me? They don't look like much, especially that purple haired girl." Hinata deflated a bit.

Quicker than Tazuna could see Naruko was standing in front of him with a dangerous look on her face, despite the smile.

"You'll take that back Tazuna-San. Hinata-Chan is a very nice person. She is also the heiress of the Hyuuga clan and one of my best friends. Hokage-Sama wasn't kidding when he said we were skilled. The three of us are more than enough to handle any amount of bandits we may come across, and I do mean any amount." No amount of Bandits would be able to threaten someone of Naruko's caliber, not even with massive numbers. Her stamina and Futon techniques would literally shred them all to pieces.

Tazuna gulped. Like most people he had heard of the Hyuuga clan and their fighting prowess. And he had just insulted their Clan Heiress? "Ah, I apologize Hyuuga-Sama! I did not realize, please forgive me!" Tazuna quickly bowed, hoping to get out of this with his head intact.

"Ah, please don't worry Tazuna-San. It's alright; Naruko-Chan's just very protective of her friends." Hinata grabbed Naruko and pulled her away from the man, giving him a reassuring smile.

"See? Nicest person you'll ever meet." Naruko sounded smug.

"I trust that this is satisfactory Tazuna-San?" The Sandaime asked.

"Yes Hokage-Sama." Tazuna turned to his new protectors. "Your job is to protect me on the way back to the Land of Waves and while I finish constructing my bridge. I expect you to lay your lives on the line to keep me safe. Meet me at the main gates tomorrow morning at seven am." Seeing them nod in acceptance and his orders delivered, Tazuna quickly left, taking a pull from his sake bottle.

"Anyone else think he seemed kind of jumpy?" Naruko asked, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at the door.

"A little yes, but it could be nothing. I'm sure whatever comes up Kakashi will be able to handle it, and if he needs to he has means to get word back to the village for reinforcements." If the Sandaime was worried about it, she couldn't tell.

"Alright then team, pack for at least a week and meet at the gates tomorrow morning." Kakashi, Hinata and Sasuke headed for the door, pausing when they realized that Naruko wasn't following. She looked like she was considering something.

"Is there something else you need Naruko-Chan?" Sarutobi looked at her curiously.

Naruko took a deep breath, coming to a decision. "There are two things. I'll get the more pleasant one out of the way first. Since we're going all the way to Wave I want to make a mission request. I want to visit the remains of Uzushiogakure, so after we complete Tazuna's mission I want to hire our team to go and visit it. It's only a day or two's travel from Wave." When she had learned who her mother was she had done some research into the Uzumaki clan. Among other things, she found out that they were the founding family for Uzushiogakure, and she wanted to visit her heritage.

Sarutobi nodded, "I see no trouble with that. That would be a C-Rank mission taking you onto foreign soil, so the mission fee will be 100,000 ryo." Naruko reached into her jacket and unsealed the required amount, handing it to the Chuunin who was writing up the mission contract, signing it where he indicated.

"And what is the other issue you wanted to talk about?"

"I have been thinking about this for the last two weeks. Our first week with Kakashi-Sensei I could let it go, but something needs to be done soon. In our month with him he has had us doing team exercises and missions exclusively. He has done nothing to improve us individually, or taught us anything of use. I don't deny his skill as a Shinobi, or the importance of the exercises, but by now he should be having us on some sort of training regimen, but he doesn't. In addition to this his chronic tardiness is wasting our time. I have approached him several times about this, but he has waved away my concerns, telling me that we are progressing just fine. As a Shinobi he is impeccable, but as a sensei he is less than useless, hindering our growth. It is my opinion that he is unsuited to be teaching a Genin squad."

Kakashi was looking at her rather hurt at the harsh critique. "I'm sorry Kakashi-Sensei, but this is what I believe." The plastic smile on her face only made it hurt more. Sasuke actually nodded in agreement with her, further hurting Kakashi. The two almost never agreed on anything, and for them to do so on this made it difficult to argue against.

"Naruko-Chan! You shouldn't say such things about Kakashi-Sensei." Hinata tried to defend him, but it was clear that she believed the same as her teammates. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him.

"I see." The Sandaime had a serious expression on his face, so different from the kind old man it usually displayed. "Jounin Kakashi," He straightened up instinctively. "If by one month after your team has returned from its missions, and as long as all members are in able-bodied condition, you have not improved sufficiently as a Sensei, I will be forced to remove you from Jounin Sensei status and place Team 7 under someone more qualified to train them." He couldn't allow a team as talented as this to be under a sensei that couldn't or wouldn't train them properly.

"Yes Hokage-Sama." Kakashi's eye was unreadable as he stood at attention. Naruko felt bad for doing this. Kakashi had shown himself to be a pretty cool guy, and she knew that in a fight she could trust him to have her back, but they could not afford to have a sub-par sensei.

"Dismissed."

Team 7 exited the Hokage's office far more subdued then when they entered.

"Be at the gates tomorrow morning." Kakashi didn't look at them, keeping his voice level, before vanishing.

"I feel terrible. Kakashi-Sensei must be so sad." The only one in more distress than Hinata could have been Kakashi, but even that was uncertain.

"Nothing Uzumaki said was wrong. Kakashi-Sensei hasn't been training us adequately." They were still far from getting along. But Naruko and Sasuke were no longer at each other's throats just because they were in hearing distance of each other.

"I didn't like it Hina-Chan, but we can't risk subpar tutelage. This is life and death. If Kakashi-Sensei is unable to prepare us for that, then we need someone else. Just because someone is great at something, does not mean they are suited for passing that greatness along. Now c'mon, you need to go inform your father of the mission and get ready." She ushered Hinata towards the Hyuuga compound before heading off towards the Shimura compound to inform Danzo and prep her own equipment.

The Genin of Team 7 arrived at the main gates ten minutes early and settled into some of the benches provided to wait. Ten minutes later Kakashi arrived with their client in tow.

"Good morning Team. If everyone's ready then we should get going." He seemed to be ignoring the incident in the Hokage's office for now.

The three nodded at their sensei and they departed without delay. It would take them about a week to reach Wave at a civilian pace, so once Kakashi had directed them into formation, Naruko out in front, Sasuke and Hinata to either side of Tazuna and Kakashi bringing up the rear, they settled in for a long walk.

Kakashi had his nose buried in his book as he could be found doing so often. The three Genin just enjoyed the peaceful walk, keeping an eye out for anything amiss.

The day was uneventful. They passed a few groups of other travelers and the occasional merchant, but largely they were by themselves. When the sun began setting they stopped to make camp, dividing the chores among the Genin.

The group didn't bother setting up their tents; the weather was dry and warm enough that they didn't need them, so the majority of their set up was digging a fire pit and setting up perimeter traps and alarms.

Naruko's nights would consist of studying her mother's sealing notes. Her mother had inherited the famed Uzumaki Fuinjutsu talent, and Naruko was hoping that she had as well. She had found her mother's notes in a sealed office in the basement of the cottage she'd claimed soon after becoming a Genin.

***Flashback***

Naruko unlocked the door to her new house. Upon opening it the sealing grid flashed into sight then faded away, signaling its dormancy. A gust of stale air whooshed out, carrying a small cloud of dust with it, brushing past Naruko and Sai. This was the first time in twelve years that the doors to this place had been opened.

"Well, let's see what we have here." Naruko and Sai explored the cottage. It was bigger on the inside than the outside would lead you to believe.

The ground level had four rooms. A large kitchen with an island in the middle of it, and a square wooden table off to the side with four chairs around it, a medium sized guest room, a large living room, and a small bathroom. Opening the fridge had been a mistake, releasing a burst of foul air from all the spoiled goods within it. Naruko wouldn't be keeping this thing. It was now severely outdated and she really didn't want to deal with cleaning it out. It'd probably be impossible to get the smell to go away, having been festering for twelve years.

The second level had another four rooms. The master bedroom with adjoining bathroom, which she steadfastly ignored the fact that she could very well have been conceived in, a room that had clearly been made up for a baby, with lots of soft pastel colors, stuffed animals, a crib and all sorts of other baby care products, which had clearly been meant to be her room, a bathroom across the hall from it which probably would have been her bathroom, and an office that had probably belonged to her father. In the office she found a picture of her father's Genin team. There was a brown haired girl with purple rectangles tattooed on her cheeks, a black haired boy with orange goggles, and a much younger Kakashi-Sensei.

She lingered in what would have been her room for nearly fifteen minutes, wondering at what could have been, picking up a stuffed teddy bear, brushing off the dust coating it. Sai's silent support was greatly appreciated. She'd make sure to bring her other friends here someday, but they were on missions currently. The old pangs of wishing she had parents to take care of her returned with a vengeance.

She eventually replaced the bear where it had been set in the crib, and they headed into the basement. Here they would find the most valuable stuff. There were two more offices, both with very complex security sealing arrays, even more powerful than what had been around the house. From what the Sandaime had told her, she could open them by smearing some of her blood on the seal and channeling some of her chakra through it. When she left she could lock them up again with the same process.

The first of the offices they entered had belonged to the Yondaime and was full of Jutsu scrolls, sealing notes, and weapons and equipment stores. The desk was cluttered; several mugs around that judging from the residue probably had held coffee, multiple scrolls were laid out full of notes for constructing a new seal. The seal that was currently on her navel, holding back the Kyuubi. He had clearly been in a hurry the last time he was in there. Compared to the rest of the house this room was a mess. On one of the walls was a copy of the picture depicting the Yondaime's Genin team.

The other office belonged to her mother. It was much neater than the last one, but her mother didn't have too much use for it in her pregnant state she imagined. There were a bunch of baby raising and parenting books on the desk, with pink tabs sticking out of the pages where her mother had made notes. There were several shelves full of Uzumaki Fuinjutsu scrolls, most, if not all of which she had probably inherited from Uzumaki Mito, the Shodai's wife and the Kyuubi's first Jinchuuriki. Naruko intended to carry on the Uzumaki Fuinjutsu legacy since she now had the chance to. Before she and Sai left, she grabbed the beginner scrolls and her mother's separate notebooks on them.

Other than the offices, the basement held a massive storage room, full of crates that Naruko would have to take inventory of. She was happy to note that Stasis seals had been applied to the whole room, so if there was anything perishable in there they should still be edible.

Next to it was a simple laundry room, containing outdated washing and drying machines. She was relieved to see that there weren't any old dirty clothes there.

Next there was another set of stairs leading further down. This brought the two into a huge underground training area, full of training equipment, sparring areas, and what looked like a jutsu firing range, with chakra absorbing seal arrays painted all over the walls. This would be pretty cool if she ever had a desire to try it out.

Having seen everything, Sai and Naruko left, with her leaving a small legion of clones to clean the place up, and take inventory, noting what had to be replaced and whatnot. Her wind techniques were already coming in very handy, seeing clouds of dust being blasted out the doors and windows. She vaguely wished that she could have been friends with Sakura and Ino, they seemed like they would know a thing or two about interior redecorating. Not that she intended to move out of the Shimura compound for awhile at least.

***End Flashback***

This was how the next five days would pass for the group. Long walks towards Wave with occasional breaks, making camp at sunset, and continuing on the next day.

The sixth day, when they were about to cross the border, was when things got interesting. A few hours into the day they passed by a large puddle on the side of the road. Naruko glanced at it curiously and then looked at the sky. It hadn't rained in weeks, how did it get there?

"It's a Genjutsu." She heard Masa speak up in her mind. "There are two Shinobi lying in that puddle. Be on your guard."

Moments after the group had passed the puddle the ninja in wait launched their attack. In their opening move they had surrounded Kakashi with a spiked chain connecting their massive, clawed gauntlets together. With a swift and practiced movement Kakashi was torn into pieces and the two Mist Ninja, judging from their Hitai-ate were moving on to their next target, Hinata.

Reacting quickly, Hinata had placed herself between them and Tazuna, taking up the Juken stance. Before either of them reached her Sasuke and Naruko intercepted the pair. Sasuke landed on one of their gauntlets and smashed his right foot onto the re-breather over his face, creating a web of cracks. Naruko rammed into her target fist first, her hand sinking into his gut all the way to the wrist. The man clutched at his stomach with his non gauntleted hand as he took several slow steps backwards accompanied by pained and strained groaning.

The enemy Sasuke attacked disengaged the mechanism holding his end of the spiked chain and began attacking Sasuke. He punched at the boy perched on his gauntlet, getting him to jump off and began slashing at him with his claws. Sasuke was backpedalling, keeping away from the blades. It didn't take long to spot an opening. Sasuke rolled under a horizontal strike aimed at his head while drawing a kunai and digging a gash into the man's left thigh. But Sasuke wasn't his objective apparently, as the ninja continued with his attacks momentum and charged straight for Hinata and the bridge builder.

As soon as he noticed the slack on the spiked chain, Naruko's opponent began whipping it around, lashing at Naruko, who bobbed and weaved her way around the assault. After a few strikes, the man turned his attention to a scared Tazuna whipping the chain back, preparing to assault the bridge builder. Before the Mist ninja could complete his swing, Naruko kicked the arm rearing back, making the man spin in a circle and wrapping him in his own weapon. He quickly disengaged his end of the chain, hoping the weapon would fall to the ground, but before that could happen Naruko swept his feet out from under him, pulled two kunai from her pouches and nailed them through the holes linking the chains together, pinning the man down. He became very still, lying on a rope of chained spikes was probably very uncomfortable, and glared angrily at the blonde.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a black blur race towards Hinata and Tazuna. Turning she spotted the second enemy, blood flowing freely down his leg as he determinedly attacked, his eyes glued to Tazuna. Sasuke was chasing behind him, but he wouldn't be able to catch him before he reached Hinata.

Just before he reached striking distance, he was stopped cold by Kakashi reappearing, catching the man's throat in the crook of his elbow. His own speed and weight nearly breaking his neck at the abrupt stop, sending him into unconsciousness.

"Yo!" Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"Kakashi-Sensei! You're alright!" Hinata said, looking greatly relieved.

"Show off." Sasuke grunted.

Naruko remained with her restrained opponent, stripping him of his equipment and weapons. "Took ya long enough Sensei. The fight was already pretty much over."

"…I think Hinata-Chan's my favorite. You two are so mean to me." Kakashi said playfully overdramatic, before tossing the enemy ninja to Naruko, wordlessly telling her to restrain him.

"So Tazuna-San." Kakashi turned to their client, "Care to tell me why these two were targeting you? And why you lied to our village about the mission parameters?" Kakashi's eyes had become hard. Konoha had lost teams before due to faulty mission info, and the possibility of enemy ninja involvement had not been mentioned. It was possible that this was just a freak occurrence, but it was far more likely that Tazuna had lied about the mission details.

"This is a mission that's above a C-Rank. I'm sure that you have your reasons, but lying to us about the details makes things dangerous for everyone. Those two are missing-nin known by the title 'Demon Brothers'. They have a reputation for being unrelenting and focused in their attacks. You could have gotten my team killed."

Tazuna gave a resigned sigh. "The Land of Waves is very poor. Not even our Daimyo has very much money. It is currently in the grips of a man named Gato, president of Gato Industries. Through various means, he has managed to gain complete control of the surrounding waters and sea traffic, giving him effective control of the country. My bridge is the only thing that stands to break his strangle hold on our country, and Gato is targeting me because of it." Tazuna got down on his knees and touched his forehead to the ground. "I beg of you, do not abandon me. This is our only hope!"

Creating a six person Shadow Clone squad to keep watch over their prisoners and after stripping them of their equipment, Naruko made her way back over to the group.

"Jeez Tazuna-San. From what you've just told us, you're talking about the liberation of a country! That's an A-Rank mission!" Naruko stopped on Kakashi's right, staring down at the prostrate man. "And you must never have heard about a little something known as a 'payment plan'. There really aren't many people who pay the whole mission fee upfront you know. Most pay in installments, and Hokage-Sama's a sympathetic man, he wouldn't have turned you down."

Naruko was sensing some pretty awesome opportunities here. Free the Land of Waves from a tyrant for her first real mission outside of the village, skyrocketing her reputation with some cleverly placed Henge'd Kage Bunshin to seed the title of Tenjin among the people around, a chance to secure some prime trade and travel agreements between Fire and Wave, and improve their image with the entire country, endearing Konoha to them, making it very likely that they'd come to Konoha with most, if not all, of their future mission needs.

"Ordinarily this would be grounds for terminating the mission." Kakashi said, making Tazuna grow hopeful. "But I think I'll let my team decide."

"I say we keep going! We're only a few hours out from Wave, and connecting Wave with the mainland will benefit our country as well. And this would give us some bonus points with Wave to establish trade agreements, right Tazuna-San?" Naruko looked at the man, who had by now risen to his knees. Naruko was very careful to avoid phrases like 'leverage' and 'they'll owe us'. She didn't want to upset the man. He would have quite a bit of influence in Wave if this bridge of his worked out. And if by chance they had to take out Gato in the course of the mission, they could make a massive profit, taking control of his wares and assets. Some of course would be donated to Wave rebuild what had to have been lost to Gato's machinations, but Gato is a very wealthy man.

"Ah, of course! If you help me finish the bridge, I'm certain that everyone in the country will be honored and eager to reestablish connections with Fire." Once Gato had come into control, he had cut off most foreign contact so he could solidify his hold on the country.

"Yes! If they need our help, then we should give it to them." Hinata looked a little scared, but determined nonetheless.

"This will be a good chance to see just how strong we are." Sasuke smirked. Of course he'd go straight to that detail.

"I guess today's your lucky day Tazuna. My team is a lot nicer than I would've been. Let's keep going then, we can probably reach Wave before dark. Leave the Mist-nin here; some Hunters will be along eventually to grab them. Can you maintain your clones to keep watch Naruko-Chan?"

"Not a problem Kakashi-Sensei."

An hour after they continued, Naruko jerked and came to a halt, looking back the way they had come from.

"Something just took out my clones. I didn't get a good look, just a blur of blue and black. Whatever it was took them out before they even knew what was happening."

"Hmm, then we'll probably be seeing the Demon Brothers again before this mission is over. Keep on your guard everyone." Kakashi maintained a nonchalant mood.

Things were uneventful until they reached the shore where they would cross into Wave on a small ferry. The waters were very foggy, making it difficult to see very far ahead of them.

"We're about to come up next to the bridge." Tazuna whispered at the back of the boat. Sure enough, a few moments later they could see the massive structure of the stone and steel bridge in construction.

"Wow old man, that's certainly impressive. On par with the Hokage monument I'd say." Naruko commented quietly with a low whistle.

"That's amazing, how much longer do you think it'll take to complete?" Hinata turned to the bridge builder.

"Not much longer. Maybe another month. We've been constructing it for a couple of years now. Gato's been trying to stop us, but everyone involved is determined to finish it."

It took another forty minutes in the ferry to reach the shore. Tazuna thanked the ferry and they continued on to his house. The fog quickly thinned out, revealing the dirt pathway and the trees on either side.

It wasn't long before things got exciting again. Kakashi noticed something a split second before Naruko did, "Down!" He tackled Hinata and Tazuna to the ground, while Naruko and Sasuke ducked.

A massive sword spun over the group from behind, its momentum taking it up into the air where it lodged into a tree, a very tall shirtless man appearing on top of it in moments. He had tanned, leathery looking skin, and large muscles. He would have to be very strong to wield a weapon like the one he was currently perched on. Tilted on his head, he had a slashed out Kiri Hitai-ate, indicating his status as a missing-nin.

"Well well, you're Momochi Zabuza, missing-nin of Kirigakure and a former member of Kiri's Seven Swordsmen. What could you be doing here?" Kakashi sounded as if the man hadn't just tried to cleave them all in two a moment ago.

"I'm here for the bridge builder. Hand him over and you and your team can go." His voice was gruff as he glared down at them.

"We can't do that. You see, it's our mission to protect the bridge builder. If you want him," Kakashi tilted his Hitai-ate up, revealing his left eye. "You'll have to go through me first."

"The Sharingan so early? I'm honored."

"Protect Tazuna, let me handle this guy. He's too much for you right now. This is the teamwork needed in this situation."

The Genin quickly formed a perimeter around Tazuna, keeping watch for any threats.

"I didn't think it would be so simple. So be it." Mist quickly began pouring in from all the water surrounding them, reducing visibility severely. Hinata activated her Byakugan, keeping a look out.

Zabuza grabbed the handle of his sword, yanking it from the tree and placing it on his back, and jumped down onto the lake in front of Team 7, his left arm raised high and his right arm in a half ram seal in front of his jaw.

"Ninpo: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist)" The mist became so thick they could hardly see their hands in front of their faces.

Kakashi placed himself about a meter in front of his team, trying to determine where Zabuza would strike from. "Hinata, keep a careful watch." He didn't give any explicit instructions, hoping to minimize the threat to her. If Zabuza knew there was a Hyuuga with an awakened Byakugan among them, he would target her first.

"Eight points." Zabuza's voice echoed around them. "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney, heart. Which vital organ will I strike first?" His killing intent leaked all around them. Naruko and Kakashi noticing Hinata and Sasuke tensing. But as an unexpected benefit, Naruko's use of her own KI during their Academy days had built up some immunity for them. To Naruko it was like a rabbit was trying to gnaw on her finger. It would take a lot more than this to affect her after the Kyuubi's preparations.

Naruko spoke in a deadpan tone as she slowly formed some seals, "Oh no, the mist is so thick I can't see. Whatever will I-Daitoppa!" There was an abrupt increase in her volume when she announced her Jutsu. She dumped a large amount of chakra into her technique making it more powerful, building a huge gust of wind behind Team 7 clearing all the mist easily and restoring their vision. One of the things they could see was a now very annoyed Zabuza, who had been sneaking around behind them.

"Oh nooooo, what happened?" She asked in her most mocking tone, as if speaking to a child who was crying over a broken toy or skinned knee. "Did the wind blow away your mist?" A moment later Sasuke let out a snort of laughter while Hinata tried to stifle her giggling. Naruko quickly unsealed the Mastermune when Zabuza growled and charged.

Kakashi met his charge head on, his kunai impaling the Kiri-nin's stomach, before he collapsed, turning into a puddle of water.

Another Zabuza jumped from the trees, bringing his sword the Kubikiribocho cleaving down on Kakashi, the top foot of the blade impaling the ground as the two halves of Kakashi fell to either side, before turning into their own puddles of water. Another Kakashi appeared behind Zabuza holding a kunai to his neck.

"It's over. Drop your sword."

"Behind you sensei!" Hinata's warning came in time for Kakashi to duck under a massive sword swing that would have bisected him at the chest as the Zabuza he had just been threatening turned into yet another puddle of water. Kakashi spun around, tearing the kunai across Zabuza's abdomen creating a deep gash, finally drawing actual blood that flowed down, staining the crotch of his pants red.

"Good job guys, keep it up." Kakashi was quite pleased with the level of support his team was able to give him. When the mist had first formed he got a little worried, but Naruko had taken care of that quickly and easily, and Hinata's Byakugan had been plenty of warning for him to take advantage of the opening Zabuza made with such a committed strike.

Zabuza backed away, clutching at his opened gut. "That girl's a Hyuuga!?" He growled out, one eye clenched in pain. Taking his now bloody left hand, he reached into his pouch, grabbing a blood clotting pill and swallowed it. The blood flow from his wound diminished greatly, but there was still some of that precious fluid dripping out with his larger movements.

Zabuza tilted his sword in front of him, blocking Kakashi's view of his hands, and ran through some hand seals.

"Suiton: Josho Mizu Datsu no Jutsu (Rising Water Darts)" The water that had been spread all over the ground formed into nail like shapes, and shot up at Kakashi like a rising shower at high speeds. The darts that missed embedded themselves in the surrounding vegetation creating thin but very deep holes. Kakashi began jumping around, dodging them by narrow margins. While he was distracted, Zabuza sent a volley at Team 7. Who tensed, preparing to protect the client.

"Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!" Sasuke shot a fireball at the darts attacking them, evaporating them before they reached Tazuna. The fireball continued on towards Zabuza, who grabbed his sword and jumped back out onto the lake.

Kakashi followed him onto the lake, running through more hand seals. "Raiton: Kantoku Hoden no Jutsu! (Directed Discharge)" Kakashi plunged both hands underwater, sending an electrical attack straight at Zabuza, who jumped into the air, and began making more hand seals, this time mimicked exactly by Kakashi. Zabuza landed back on the lake and both combatants released their attack simultaneously.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu! (Water Dragon Bullet)" Kakashi and Zabuza were now both surrounded by several pillars of water, coalescing above them into a pair of battling water dragons.

Seeing Zabuza currently completely open and immobilized, Naruko attacked. "Futon: Shinkugyoku!" Naruko took a deep breath then spat out as many vacuum bullets at Zabuza as she could. Zabuza glared at her from the corner of his eye and manipulated the water pillars around him to bend into the path of the attack, being temporarily dispersed and weakening his dragon.

Kakashi seized the chance and was able to make his attack crush through Zabuza's, and ram into the man. Watching from a distance it looked like Zabuza had just been swallowed by the water dragon as the attack pushed him under the surface of the lake.

Before the attack even subsided, one of Zabuza's hands surfaced between Kakashi's feet, and a bubble of water rapidly formed around the Copy Ninja. Zabuza slowly surfaced, panting through the wrappings around his face. The wound on his stomach had reopened and he had multiple bruises forming along his body.

"You're good Sharingan no Kakashi, but I've won now." His right hand was in the bubble holding Kakashi, maintaining the Jutsu as his left hand brought the Kubikiribocho to bear on the man. Kakashi smirked under his mask and with a great deal of effort under the heavy water, pointed back at the shore.

Zabuza once again turned to the Genin. Naruko was again taking a deep breath. "Damnit!" Zabuza brought his sword in front of him, managing to turn his body to hide nearly completely behind the flat of his blade as wind bullets began relentlessly impacting his blade.

"Your brats are incredibly annoying Kakashi."

Naruko ended her attack before she ran out of breath, seeing that her bullets weren't doing much against Kubikiribocho's steel body.

"Fine, then let's try something else." Naruko moved forward several yards. "Stay behind me." She told her team and client who looked curiously at her. She began spinning the Mastermune around her from side to side like a propeller pumping her chakra into the weapon. This was a variation of the Shinkuha she had come up with.

Once the Mastermune was spinning fast enough to start blurring. "Futon: Renzoku Shinkuha Kohai! (Continuous Vacuum Wave Devastation)" From both blades on the Mastermune Vacuum Waves began rushing out towards Zabuza when they swung in front of Naruko, the waves rotating in such a way that they would all flow around the bubble Kakashi was trapped in. The waves carved large gashes into the ground and through the water as they raced forward.

Zabuza was forced to release his hold on Kakashi so he didn't get sliced into fish bait. He was a bit too slow and got his right forearm sliced open before he managed to clear the danger zone.

Naruko cut off her jutsu, slowing the Mastermune's spinning to a stop. The ground in front of her was looking like an earthquake had just hit, covered completely in uneven surfaces and debris that had been torn up by the wind blades. The water where her attacks had cut through were churning wildly, filling in the gaps made by her attack and some of the trees on the other side of the lake had been reduced to firewood.

Zabuza snarled in frustration, once again running through hand seals, which were copied by the now dripping wet Kakashi, who had closed his right eye so he could concentrate with his Sharingan. Zabuza kept one eye on Naruko, that brat had been far more of a problem than he'd ever thought a Genin could be to him.

"You're nothing-"

"But a monkey!" Kakashi interrupted him, finishing his sentence.

"Without those fucking brats you would be dead!" They spoke in unison.

"What is this, is he-"

"Reading my mind!?" Kakashi continued his mind games, the power of the Sharingan and his experience fighting enemy ninja allowing him to predict the words and thoughts of his opponent.

Zabuza's seal making faltered while Kakashi sped up his own hand seals, finishing well before Zabuza. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu! (Great Waterfall)" A circle of water formed in front of Kakashi before it shot a very large and very fast stream of water at Zabuza. It was like an airborne river had just collided with Zabuza with the power of a stampede, sending him crashing through multiple trees, probably breaking a few ribs. The pressure of the attack opened the gashes on his arm and stomach up further. Zabuza wasn't looking like he'd live through the night. As the water drained away from around him, four kunai flew through the air, one impacting each bicep and thigh.

Kakashi jumped to a tree branch above Zabuza, kunai in hand.

"How? Can you see the future?" Zabuza was looking pretty spooked at Kakashi's seemingly supernatural ability.

"Yes. And I see you're death." Just before Kakashi could throw his kunai a pair of senbon impaled themselves straight through Zabuza's neck killing him.

"It appears you were right. He did die." A soft, feminine voice said, as another ninja revealed themselves in the treetops. It appeared to be a woman, with long black hair done up in a bun, pale skin, and turquoise painted nails. She wore a blue kimono top with white borders over a beige long-sleeved turtleneck, and a short beige hakama. On her feet were a pair of wooden sandals and she wore a Kiri Hunter-nin mask, with red wave like decoration.

"Thank you very much." The Hunter bowed. "I've been after this one for weeks."

Naruko frowned in thought. She felt like she was missing something, but couldn't put her finger on it.

Kakashi jumped down next to Zabuza, checking for a pulse. After a few moments he declared the missing-nin dead and moved back to check on his team.

"Uh, Kakashi-Sensei, what's going on?" Hinata asked, letting her Byakugan fade. She had been focusing her attention on the fight and so hadn't noticed the Hunters presence.

"This is a Hunter-nin from Kirigakure. Every village has Hunters like this whose job it is to hunt down missing-nin and destroy them so village secrets can be maintained. Zabuza was from Kiri, hence, the Kiri Hunter-nin coming after him."

The Kiri-nin dropped down next to Zabuza hauling the much larger person onto her back, sword and all, when Naruko just figured out what she was missing.

"Wow, you're a Hunter-nin?" Naruko approached her, sticking the Mastermune on her back. "That's one of the highest ranks you can get, and you look like you're our age. You must be very talented." The Hunter tensed as she got closer.

"Naruko, we need to get moving. I don't want to be out here when it gets really dark." Kakashi called to her pulling his Hitai-ate back down over his eye. "Let the Hunter do her job." He was exhausted from his fight and wanted to get some rest.

"Right right! Just one thing." Naruko's hand latched onto the Hunters left arm with an iron like grip.

"You're not a real Hunter-nin, are you?"

Rather than react violently like Naruko had expected, the Hunter merely tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry? What are you talking about?" Naruko was starting to feel like she'd made a mistake, a mild blush of embarrassment spreading across her cheeks, but she continued on anyways. She could apologize afterwards if she was wrong.

"A bit ago we encountered a couple more Kiri missing-nin. We left them tied up with some of my clones standing guard over them until a hunter or patrol came to pick them up. An hour after we left those clones were destroyed by a blue and black blur. I think that fits your description."

The Hunter giggled. "You know, you're pretty cute, especially up close." Naruko blushed even more. Whoever this was certainly wasn't behaving like she expected someone who had just freed a couple of wanted rogues would.

Kakashi frowned and lifted his Hitai-ate back up. "I'm sorry Hunter-San, but Naruko's just being cautious. I hope you won't mind if we really want to be sure that Zabuza has been killed and cut his head off. Besides" he eye smiled, "I want to be able to collect the bounty on his head."

The Kiri-nin was silent for a moment, making Naruko tighten her grip. "I can't allow that."

Shocking Naruko the girl ran through hand signs with one hand. "Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suisho. (Thousand Needles of Death)" She stomped on the ground, making hundreds of thin ice needles jump up surrounding her and Naruko which proceeded to dart at the blond, flowing around the black haired shinobi. The woman turned Naruko's tactic back on her, grabbing her arm with the same arm Naruko was holding on to.

Naruko couldn't use a substitution with someone holding onto her like that, actively resisting the technique that would drag her along. Not having much of a choice Naruko drew her wakizashi, sending it slicing in a trajectory that would gut her from stomach to throat. If she was going down, she would take her enemy with her. This was stopped however by the hand the woman had created the jutsu with, grabbing Naruko's hand and stopping the blade several centimeters from her abdomen with a strained grunt, and further shocking Naruko that she was strong enough to stop her arm.

Not having time or the means to make seals to properly mold her Chakra, Naruko sloppily formed a Shinkugyoku in her mouth and spat it at her opponent's masked face. It didn't work like Naruko had hoped, tearing up some of her throat and mouth, making blood leak from between her lips, while the hunter tilted her head, dodging the weak attack entirely. Naruko wouldn't be able to escape the needles.

Naruko's eyes squeezed shut and a yell of pain escaped her ravaged throat, as the pain of dozens of needles stabbing deep into her washed over her. The only places she wasn't being impaled were her legs, arms, shoulders, forehead and back, where her armor and the Mastermune were.

"Naruko!" She vaguely heard Hinata and Kakashi call out as she collapsed, her body going numb as she blacked out from all the pressure points and nerves hit by the ice needles.

Well…that escalated quickly. I saw maybe, half of this chapter coming. The other half took me off guard. How does that happen?!

So, you may have noticed a few changes from the series. I know I did. I'm glad everyone's enjoying things so far, let me know what you think of my update. I had lots of fun writing this particular chapter.