A/N: Hello everybody! As an FYI I had a bit of trouble uploading the last chapter. Instead of chapter 11, I updated a previous chapter by accident. Whoopsies! Any ways, if you haven't read the new chapter 11, you might want to read it before you read this chapter. Just a bit of advice.
It had been a week since team seven had been formed. Currently the team wading the woods tracking a fast moving blur.
"This is Raven target appears to be in sight." Sauske said over his com. link. "Pink, can you verify this is the target?"
"This is Pink. Target verified. A red ribbon around the neck and a nick in the left ear." Sakura replied.
"Good work team. Yellow, capture the target." Kakashi said through the link.
All everyone heard was grumbling on the other side of the link when a flash of yellow shot out of the tree line circling the target. When Naruto stopped moving, there lay a cat with a red ribbon and a nick in the left ear. Hog tied.
"Mission 'Capture Tora' accomplished." Naruto stated with an air of professionalism no one on the team could even imagine him having. Save Kakashi who heard it several occasions years ago.
"Good work Naruto!" Kakashi started. "But don't you think the hog tying was a bit overboard?"
"What, you never said I couldn't! You specifically said no death traps or shots to kill. That effectively leaves this method." Naruto said gesturing to the cat with the last part. "And if I ever have to use my bare hands to catch the damn thing again I swear within three nights it will die peacefully in its sleep, or so help me I will help it along!"
Sauske and Sakura shuddered at this thought. They knew he could effectively carry out the threat, and they would support that choice fully should he choose to fulfill it. The scary part was he could the same to them and he wouldn't have any second thoughts about it afterward should they cross him. It was like he had a whole different personality when he got over two hours of sleep. No longer was he constantly asleep, he now seemed to have limitless energy with a skill set higher then their teacher's. A rather deadly combination
"It doesn't matter actually!" Kakashi quickly backtracked. He was working on improving his skills, but he was still nowhere near ready to face him in a fight. "Let's head back to the hokage to get the mission payment."
"Good work team seven. Here is your mission pay." The hokage said while Iruka, who was working in the hokage's office until the next semester as an aid, gave them four envelopes containing the money. "Now, what to pick for your next mission. We have painting houses, weeding a garden, walking some dogs, or cleaning the Inuzuka kennels. I think the last one holds the the most promise, what do you four think?" he asked looking over his best 'genin' team.
When he stopped at the last team member, Naruto, he became afraid though he didn't show it. Naruto was giving the hokage a death glare that seemed to say "Give me a real mission! Not these chores! If I have to do one more, I will hurt you in as many painful ways possible, and still leave you fit for duty."
"That's it!" yelled Sauske which surprised everyone but Naruto and Kakashi. "These aren't missions, they're chores no sane person would ever do! We're ninjas, not the cleaning maid!"
"Sauske! How dare you! These missions are vital! They supply-" Iruka started only to be stopped by the hokage
The hokage let out a sigh of relief, glad Naruto wouldn't visit him in the night. "It's okay Iruka. They've done the minimum amount of D ranked missions, I have an easy escort mission that they can do instead. Send in the client!" With that, a sliding door opened to reveal a old man who was holding a sake bottle and had clearly been drinking from it if his actions were anything to go by. "This is Tazuna. You'll be guarding him from bandits and thugs on his trip home to the land of waves."
"This is my protection?" Tazuna stated, making it clear he was drunk. "They're just a bunch of weak kids! Especially the blonde one. He looks like those people who were watching me earlier, except no mask. THEY seemed strong. If this kid is trying to imitate them, he must be weak."
In a flash of speed Naruto was behind Tazuna with a kunai at his neck whispering "I'm copying them are I? Or are they copying me?"
Tazuna gulped, fear clearly showing on his face. Though he also seemed relieved. Strange.
The hokage saw this was going to escalate so he said "Team seven, you meet at the gate tomorrow at seven. Use your time today to pack and get ready."
Team seven bowed and exited the room.
It was now 12:06 and team seven was at the gates. Well most of them anyways.
"Where is he!" Sakura screeched.
"I know, this is strange." surprisingly it was Kakashi who said this. He may be late, but he was always ten minutes early for a mission. "Damn this is annoying! Maybe I should just wake up a couple hours earlier like Yugao, Naruto, Tenzo… hell, everyone in ANBU thinks I should."
"Hi everyone!" Naruto yelled in a cheery attitude waving when he appeared at the end of the street.
"YOUR LATE! WHERE WHERE YOU?" Sakura yelled. "EVEN KAKASHI WAS ON TIME!"
"Who, me?" Naruto asked 'puzzled'. Getting four nods as an answer (Tazuna was curious also) Naruto pulled a Kakashi when he replied "I got lost lost on the road of life."
, without any humor in his voice and his eye narrowed, said "lovely scenery on that road, isn't there."
"You bet!"
"Okay, now that we're all here, let's set out team. We'll head out in a diamond formation. Sauske, point. Sakura, left side. Naruto, right side. I'll take rear guard. Let's go."
The team had been traveling for three hours now without a hitch. Currently Sauske was brooding, Sakura was chatting with Tazuna, Kakashi was reading porn, and Naruto was the only one clearly keeping watch.
Off to the left side, a large puddle sat to the side of the road. Naruto noticed this, and stubbed his left big-toe on a partly concealed rock. Kakashi noticed this, and let off one of his perverted giggles to show he understood, though everyone else thought he hagotten to an 'interesting' point in his book.
Once the team had passed, two men in rebreathers and chains attached to the gauntlets on their arms exploded out of the puddle. They quickly ran around Kakashi a couple of times to wrap the chain around him. When the chain was wrapped about three times the two men ran apart from each other to pull the chain taught. Because of this Kakashi exploded in a bloody mess.
"Ha, that was easy!" said the man on the left "If that's the best they've got, the rest will be a piece of cake."
Suddenly his head fell off in a shower of blood. "Oh, but he's not. I am." a bloody Naruto said from behind the now headless body as it fell forward.
"Brother!" yelled the man on the right. "You'll pay for that!" He then charged at Naruto as fast as he could.
By now the shock had worn off and Sakura screamed. Sauske stood there shaking, not at the opponents, but at the sheer ruthlessness of his teammate. He had been ready to fight but not to kill.Naruto had killed him on pure instinct. "W-what are you?" both Sauske and Sakura thought.
As the man came close to Naruto he cocked his gauntleted fist back and threw a punch at Naruto. At the last possible second, Naruto ducked under and flip kicked him in the stomach. Effectively sending him right behind him and into a very nice tree to do battle.
The tree won and the man slid down the trunk and onto the ground. In a flash of speed Naruto appeared in front of him with a kunai in hand, ready to finish the job. Naruto swung the knife at the man's neck.
But was stopped by Kakashi's hand grabbing his wrist. "That's enough Naruto. We need him alive for questioning. Him and Tazuna."
Tazuna gulped and smiled weakly at the statement.
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Regardless, review it! Also, I'm going to start drafts for a NaruxYugi Fic. This means my time will be a bit divided,nut you'll somehow live on. I'm positive. When i post the first chapter, I'll let everyone here know as I know alot of you are NaruxYugi fans from your pairing suggestions. THN out!
