Sakura and Sasuke quickly followed us and soon we were rushing towards the direction we suspected he had gone to.

"I do not know what this kid's training has been but he is incredibly fast!" Sasuke said as he ran next to Sakura.

"Who can it be?", the pink-haired kunoichi asked.

"Who cares, he is toast when I catch up with him" Naru, who was at the front with me, said and we all continued our way from the trees in order to reach him one hour earlier.

We spotted him not too far away, jumping from branch to branch as well. He was pretty smooth for a ninja. Just as I thought of that, he tripped and landed upside down on a branch. With a swing, he jumped and landed gracefully on the ground.

We all landed on a branch almost above him and Naruto pointed a finger at him. Ha! Serves you right!"

"Say it again Naru!"

"Huh?", he said as he backed off slowly, now understanding in what position he put himself in.

"You have a lot of nerve to think that you can get away with it" Sasuke, who was along with Sakura on a branch, on a tree across from us, said.

"I am sorry!" Idate cried out, fall on his knees and started crying? "I could not pay the bill! All my money had been stolen and then you guys came… I shouldn't have done it but I did not know what else to do" he continued and we all jumped and landed next to him.

"You are kidding all of your money?" Sakura asked.

"But why didn't you say that in the first place" Naruto added right after.

"Naru is right. We wouldn't mind paying for you" I said as then something fell on Naru's head and then on the ground.

"What is this? he wondered and knelt in order to pick it up.

"Hands off!" Idate said as he quickly grabbed it and jumped on his feet. "This belongs to me!" he said, put it on his pocket and then unclipped something from his legs.

"What are you doing?" Naru asked and I raised an eyebrow as I recognized that he wore leg weights.

"On your mark," he said as he raised the weights, one in each hand.

"Huh?" we all questioned the same time.

"Get set…Go!" he said and let them fall to the ground.

Dust rose everywhere and blocked our view of him. What the heck? How heavy were they? I wondered as I tried to see through the dust but my try was in vain.

"Huh… leg weights?" Naru wondered as the dust cloud started to clear.

"Give it up kids! You will never catch me!" his voice was heard and when the dust finally cleared, he was already far away.

"There! He is on the running again!" Sakura said.

"We will see about that!" Naru replied as we all jumped and started running on top of the trees.

"This kid is asking for it!" Sasuke said.

"Yes, he is but you have to admit that he is fast" I commented.

"Is this guy for real?", Sakura asked as it seemed impossible to catch up with his speed. He was simply running ahead of us, gaining ground after ground while we were struggling to keep up.

"He is fast!"

"Fast? This guy doesn't exist", I said after Sasuke we all raised our speed because we started to lose him from our sight.

"What's going on? He is getting away every second" Naru said and we all stopped at a tree in a line going, Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and I, all of us panting.

"There is... no way... to catch him... he is out of our league..."

"...I agree...with you ... Sakura ..." I said and placed my hand against the trunk to keep myself standing and awake.

"Okay...but if I ever...see that stupid jerk again...watch out!" Naru said.

After we gave up on chasing Idate, we returned to our mission. We took the way for Mr Jirocho's house and it did not take us long before we reached it.

"Welcome and thank you all for coming," Mr Jirocho said as we all stood in front of him in a line, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke and Me.

"I bring my greeting and I offer you my services," Naru said as he took a few steps at the front and bowed dramatically. "I have come from the village hidden in the leaves, which is also the place of my birth. I was raised on ramen and hard work and given the name of Uzumaki but I am known to everyone as-"

"The knucklehead" Sasuke added.

"As the knucklehead" Naru repeated, causing me to giggle as it took him a few good seconds to understand what he had just said. When he did, he got mad and caused Mr Jirocho to laugh.

"You haven't changed at all I see," he said.

"Yeah, you haven't changed much either big guy"

"Watch it Naruto" Sakura scolded him.

The man laughed more. "No, it's aright. The boy has spirit, I like that"

"Now we got down with the greeting, we should get down to it. The 5th Hokage told us you would explain what you want us to do" Sasuke said, his tone serious as ever.

"Hm, alright then. *clears throat* you know about the dedication ceremony that is held at Todoroki Shrine every 4 years don't you?"

"Oh, well I… not really" Naru admitted.

"Go on. Have a seat" he said and we did as we told. "It all started long ago… the legend goes that in ancient times that came a terrible storm. In desperation, the people dedicated the Riyuko stones to the great Todoroki shrine and it worked. The storm stopped and now the ceremony is repeated every 4 years… at first, it was just a rededication of the jewels. Then, it became a festival and a race, with the winner of the race being held a great hero… but in recent years, what was a friendly race has taken a more troubling aspect… for generations, the race has been divided into two families. The Wasabi and the Wagarashi… two rival gambling organizations… both families wanted control of the town, which naturally lead to disputes. This disputed became increasingly violent, sometimes resulting in battles where the rest of the people were caught in the crossfire and many were injured or worse. Finally, in order to end this cycle of violence, our district leader called both sides to get together and come to an agreement… and so, the ruler of the town would not be chosen by battles but by a competition"

"What sort of competition exactly?" Sakura asked.

"The race that runs every four years at the Tororoki shrine… 4 years ago the Wagarashi beat us unfurls by hiring a ninja and we found out that they had done the same thing this year. That is why we sent messengers to you, seeking your help but before they could reach the village they were attacked, ambushed. I beg you"

"Huh?" we all exclaimed.

"Please, lend our family your strength. If we lose again, that means that the Wagarashi will control this town for 4 more years"

"Not going to happen! I am on the job!" Naru said.

"So, who are we supposed to escort anyway?",Sasuke asked and folded his hands in front of his chest.

"Excellent! That means you take the job!" he said and clapped his hands.

"Yes boss!" a boy said as he opened the door and knelt. "You wanted me? … huh?" he exclaimed when he noticed us.

"Huh?" Sakura mimicked him.

"No way!" I shouted with wide eyes.

Then Naru and Idate screamed together.

"So, you two already know each other! That makes everything easier" Mr Jirocho said but the two boys ignored him and they had started once again a glaring competition.

"Here we go again" I muttered and facepalmed.

Yes, I was pissed off at the kid and was annoyed by his attitude but I wouldn't start a scene in front of the man who had hired us. Especially, since the kid was the one we were supposed to escort.

"I wouldn't be so sure" Sakura softly said and I nodded.