A/N: And finally the plot advances! I was actually really excited to write this chapter, and I've got quite a few ideas for what will happen next. As you can probably guess, this C-rank is going to turn just as interesting for Sakura as the Land of Waves mission did. Anyways, while I'm not too sure about how well I did on the timeskip part at the beginning (let me know what you think), overall I personally liked this chapter, especially the scene between Kakashi and Sarutobi. It was kinda weird to change perspectives, but unfortunately it was definitely necessary.
Next, a very important note: In canon, Kakashi basically doesn't train them at all, instead just leaving them to his own devices (at least that's sort of what I remember, I haven't actually watched the show in a while oops!). When he does train them, he focuses mainly on Sasuke and Naruto, ignoring Sakura. To my regret, I have indeed used my unlimited power as a fanfiction author to change this (sorry!). While I have a bit of reasoning behind it (the fact that Sakura doesn't introduce herself as a fangirl means that Kakashi takes her a bit more seriously, and the fact that her father is gone and her relationship with her mother is strained could lead to Kakashi relating a bit more with her as well as the boys), mostly it's just me disliking him in canon but wanting to write a likeable character. Please let me know if you think that this is just too unrealistic, and I'll try my best to change it a little.
Also, on a different note, this chapter ended up being a bit shorter than average yet again (I normally tend to aim for about 5k words approximately). I just kinda needed to stop it and thought this was a good place, I guess.
Finally, I'd just like to say how grateful I am for all the people who left reviews! It's really heartwarming to see people enjoying my story even through all its many inconsistencies and weird plotholes, and I especially enjoy the constructive criticism (shoutout to Alexxya for giving me feedback on every single chapter, I really appreciated it!). If I ever end up finishing the story and moving on to rewriting it, I'll make sure to incorporate all of it! Unfortunately, I'm not the most knowledgeable about the Naruto universe (watched the show and read the manga but that was a year or so ago. I mostly just read fanfics about it now and rely on my brother for information, so a lot of things in my story might be inaccurate, but I do really value the time you guys take to write a review!
Anyways, enough rambling! Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!
[chapter 5]
The weeks passed by and Sakura slowly fell into a routine with her new team.
She would meet Sasuke and Naruto at their training grounds at six every morning, and they'd train for a few hours until Kakashi arrived. Then he'd give them the mission for the day and afterwards they'd be pushed through his grueling endurance training.
She could feel the muscles beneath her skin now, and to be honest it wasn't as bad as she'd feared. Her body hadn't bulked up like she'd expected it to, instead remaining lithe and slim. She actually liked it. She was faster now, and stronger.
On the rare occasions that they finished the mission early though, Kakashi would teach them something new. Mostly it was Kata and chakra exercises to expand and control their chakra, although sometimes there were a few jutsu mixed in. Notably, he'd taught her a genjutsu called Hell's viewing technique. Supposedly it caused the victim to see their deepest fear. She wasn't sure how well it worked though, since when she'd tried it on him the jounin hadn't even reacted - Naruto, though, had screamed like a baby.
He wasn't a bad teacher, all in all. Nothing like Iruka-sensei, but then again, she had the feeling that Iruka was a bit less… emotionally stunted. From the few things he'd told them about himself and whatever she'd managed to glean from history books, Sakura had put together that he'd graduated the academy at an exceptionally young age - he'd graduated at five years old, before the age that she'd started learning - only to be sent to the battlefield right away. He hadn't had a childhood, she knew, and she felt a bit of pity for her sensei.
This pity had disappeared with his next series of torture that he liked to call 'endurance training'.
Kakashi cared about them in his own odd way, and that was enough. While she definitely cursed him to the heavens every day, during calmer moments she realized that she actually liked that he didn't treat her like a girl, that he didn't exempt her from any training based on her sex.
Even at the academy, the girls had had to attend 'Kunoichi Training', where they learned flower placement and how to properly host a tea ceremony, while the boys did extra training. Those classes had been torturous. Ino was naturally graceful, beautiful, exceptional at all the feminine skills they were taught, and their sensei heaped compliments on the blond girl. Sakura, though, was not. She wasn't clumsy, of course. No shinobi were - except maybe Naruto. But she just wasn't extraordinary, and the other girls in the class had seized the advantage, spotting her flaws like vultures.
Looking back on it, she found herself wishing that she could've stayed with the boys. Even being all sweaty and gross - which she was everyday now - would've been better than the many tears she'd shed afterwards.
All in all while sometimes, despite her pink hair, she doubted whether Kakashi even knew she was a girl, it felt good to be able to do stuff that she couldn't before.
Sasuke had warmed up to her too. Slowly, the Uchiha had seemed to realize that she was genuine in her promise that she wouldn't fangirl over him anymore, and while he didn't talk much, they'd had a conversation a few times, something that made Sakura extremely happy. He'd even helped both her and Naruto with fixing their taijutsu forms in the morning, rolling his eyes and saying that 'he couldn't have his teammates embarrass him'.
And Naruto…
Everyday, Sakura regretted how cruel she had been to him in the academy. He was honestly a refreshing burst of optimism, and while she found herself wanting to hit him more often than not - and she did quite a few times - he always managed to eventually make her smile.
She'd been to his apartment once, after she'd managed to make him reluctantly invite her, and she was appalled at his living conditions. He lived in one of the shadiest parts of the village, and the entire room was a mess. Ramen cups were littered everywhere and there was a carton of expired milk standing right in the open. He didn't even own a fridge.
She'd asked her mother if he could move in with them, only to be instantly shut down. She'd wanted to throw a tantrum, but she hadn't. It was almost ironic. Her relationship with her mother was so strained she couldn't even get angry because the woman felt more like a complete stranger than a blood-relative.
When she'd told Naruto though, he'd actually grinned. She'd been so confused, had he not wanted to move in with her? But then he'd told her he was happy because of the fact that she would do that for him, and her heart had melted.
Although the next day he'd received several thumps on the head again for trying to convince the Hokage to give them a C-rank. Angrily, in the middle of the Hokage's office, she'd lectured him about why exactly D-ranks were so important, and why the village couldn't send unqualified genin out on a C-rank.
Naruto had shut up after that, although not for long. He'd gone back to begging the Hokage for a harder mission only a week later, although with little success.
Until now.
Which brought them to where they were.
"Naruto," the third Hokage said, puffing out a cloud of smoke with his pipe. "How would you like to go on a C-rank mission with your team? I think I have just the one."
He said this with a smile on his face as if he hadn't been completely ignoring Naruto's requests for weeks, only to suddenly offer exactly what the boy wanted.
Sakura blanched in surprise. Was he serious?
Naruto was staring too, slack-jawed. "Are you serious, old man?" He asked in wonder.
The Hokage nodded. "I am serious."
Sakura sighed. Personally, she didn't know if she was ready for a C-rank. She'd never fought anyone outside of the academy spars and their morning practices. But even Sasuke was smirking slightly, and she couldn't find it in herself to speak up.
The blond boy practically screeched, throwing his arms around her and Sasuke in joy. "Guys! We're going on a C-rank! We're finally going to do something cool! And I'll rescue a princess or something and everyone will praise me and-"
Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Idiot. We're not going to be rescuing any princesses. C-ranks are only one step up from D-ranks," Sasuke said gruffly, but she could hear that he was just as excited as Naruto.
The Hokage smiled fondly. "Naruto, before you get ahead of yourself, would you like me to tell you the mission details?"
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh, right! I forgot about that, ehehe."
Of course he'd forgotten about the actual mission in his elation about getting a C-rank.
"Quite alright. Well, then. The mission is quite simple, although a bit different from average C-ranks in that it is quite far away. However, there is expected to be no combat at all. Hence, why it was ranked a C-rank mission."
Naruto groaned and even Sasuke seemed disappointed at the Hokage's words. Sakura, though, was relieved. This was perfect! She'd be able to get out of the village, away from her mother - she really needed to find her own place to live now that she finally could - and better still she didn't have to worry about fighting.
"Your mission," and here he paused for what she assumed was dramatic effect, "is to travel to the village formerly known as Uzushiogakure, located in the Land of Whirlpools."
Sakura blinked. She'd heard of Uzushiogakure, of course - no academy student hadn't. The village had been Konoha's greatest ally and friend almost since the founding, only to be destroyed by Kirigakure in the last great war. It was to remember the village that all Konoha nin, chunin and above, wore a swirl - the village symbol of Uzushio - on their uniform. But the facts were that C-ranks were almost always carried out within the Land of Fire, since crossing the border to another land always presented some level of risk.
The patrol squads could decide to kill before asking questions, not bothering to see if you had the proper papers. Or even if you showed them, one might have a particular grudge against Konoha, having lost family or friends in the war, and decide to kill you anyway.
These further away C-ranks were always given to chunin, or at least more experienced genin. While she supposed the Land of Whirlpools was probably pretty safe, the shinobi village having been wiped out, she was surprised that they had been given the mission.
"On the coasts of the island is a special plant, which only grows there. Inside the mission scroll are more details on how to identify it. You are to collect samples of this plant and bring them back to Konoha."
"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed, regaining his former excitement after having been told there wouldn't be any combat. "Is it some kind of magic plant or something, old man? What does it do? It probably gives you superpowers, right? Right? Right?"
He was practically bouncing up and down on his feet, leaning right into the Hokage's personal space. Sakura sighed, still not knowing what the man had seen in her team that had caused him to give them the mission.
The Hokage just smiled kindly. "Unfortunately, it does not grant any special superpowers. But it is quite beautiful, especially at night. It is a species of plant that is bioluminescent. Interestingly, it was due to these properties that ships approaching Uzushio were able to safely find harbour at night."
Naruto didn't seem to find it as interesting, although she did.
"Aww, that sounds boring," he complained.
Finally having enough, Sakura took a step forward and solidly bonked his head.
"That's enough, Naruto," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just be grateful that Hokage-sama even gave us a C-rank."
The blond boy sighed, but stepped back, a respectable distance from the Hokage, and nodded. "Thanks, old man. We won't let you down."
The Hokage smiled at them kindly. "I'm sure you won't. I have full confidence in your team, which is why I assigned you this mission."
He glanced over at Kakashi, who stood behind them. "Now, if you three could please wait outside while I have a few more words with your sensei, that would be great."
All three genin bowed to him - although Sakura had to hit Naruto again when he stayed standing up - and made their way to the door.
"Hey! I should go rub this in Kiba's face right after this!" Naruto said happily.
From behind them, the Hokage cleared his throat, and the three genin turned back around in surprise. "Actually, I would prefer if you informed few people of this mission. Think of it like a top secret mission"
He smiled kindly at them, but Sakura's suspicions rose. What was so important about this mission that no one could know? If it was as he'd said, all they were doing was travelling to a deserted island and collecting a few plants.
Nevertheless, she left the room with Naruto and Sasuke, and Kakashi closed the door behind them with a click. Curious, she couldn't help but put an ear to the wood to see if she could hear anything, but it was useless. Whoever had soundproofed the Hokage's office had done their job well. Sighing, she settled herself down next to the boys to wait.
*the girl who went gravedigging and learned to talk to trees*
Kakashi studied the older man sitting in the Hokage's chair in front of him. Sarutobi's face was weary, lined with wrinkles, truly showing his age. Despite this, his eyes still gleamed with intelligence and clarity.
The silver-haired jounin carefully raised an eyebrow.
"So," he said casually. "Are you going to tell me what the real mission is?"
The Hokage sighed. "Kakashi, nothing I'm going to tell you can leave the room. Do you understand?"
Kakashi nodded curtly, sobering up. "Understood, Hokage-sama."
"I chose you because you are one of the few shinobi I know will get the job done and who I also trust implicitly."
The words didn't warm his heart, although they did do something. He'd known Sarutobi since birth, practically. The third Hokage had known his father, and later, after becoming Minato's student, they had interacted even more frequently.
He bowed his head. "What is my mission?"
"We have a mole," the Hokage said, his dark eyes boring into him. Kakashi kept his surprise under wraps, instead nodding. "Absolutely no one knows that we know except you, me, and one other agent who has already been ordered to keep silent."
"All we know is that the mole works in mission control. Perhaps due to this, they somehow gained access to and stole classified files only accessible by myself and the council. How this occurred will be looked into at a later date."
"What was in the files, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, filled with a dark curiosity.
"Information on all of Konoha's currently active deep undercover agents," the Hokage responded after a moment, dropping his head in his hands and groaning softly in a moment of weakness. "If the information gets out all their lives will be in danger, not to mention that we would be facing the threat of conflict if the villages take it badly."
Kakashi understood. Deep undercover spies lived their entire lives in another village, their sole purpose to completely blend in and climb the ranks, providing continuous information on the movements of that village. While spying wasn't exactly uncommon between the villages - hell, they had a mole at that moment in Konoha - it was expected that the spy could not be connected back to any particular village. Every spy went through rigourous torture resistance training, and they had seals placed on their minds that would self-destruct the host if any tampering or interference was noticed. If this information came out, and Konoha was clearly behind it, it would be catastrophic.
"Does the mole still possess the files?"
The Hokage shook his head. "No, we have it on good source that the files were handed off to an accomplice, a civilian man running an inn at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Whirlpools during a mission. Another nin - I suspect Kiri to be behind this, the location is just too convenient for them - will be stopping by the inn in two weeks to pick up the package."
"You want me to intercept the accomplice before then," Kakashi stated, understanding.
"Yes," the Hokage said. "You must reach the inn before then and retrieve the package. Kill the man and use any means necessary to find the name of the mole."
The jounin frowned. "Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but is that necessary? It would not be difficult to find the mole now that we know which division they are in."
"Unfortunately not, Kakashi. I can't do any digging on my end for fear of the mole realizing that they have been discovered and informing their accomplice to fkee or hand off the files to someone else. While any letters between them could easily be intercepted, I cannot risk the possibility that they might have a more secure, instantaneous method of communicating, such as summons."
"Which is why you sent my genin team, I assume?"
Sarutobi gave him a half smile that held no emotion behind it. "Correct. The mole chose wisely. I cannot send a higher-ranked team for fear of the mole growing suspicious. There was a C-rank requested in the Land of Whirlpools that I was originally going to turn down, not seeing the value, but I decided to take the opportunity."
Kakashi nodded, his face blank.
"Your mission will not be recorded until after completion, as I'm sure you'll understand" the Hokage continued. "Arrange to stay temporarily at the inn run by the mole's accomplice. Find an excuse to get your genin out of the picture, send them on an errand or something similar, and complete your mission."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
He gazed over at Kakashi seriously. "You are not to look at the contents of the package under any circumstances, understood? This information is only for myself and the council. If you find out that anyone other than the accomplice has seen the files, for instance a nosy wife or child, kill them as well."
"Understood."
He'd been called a lazy old man more than once, among other names such as 'pervert', 'bastard', and 'good for nothing'. But Kakashi was a shinobi, through and through, and he performed his duties seriously.
The Hokage nodded, already looking away from the man before him and back down to his never ending mountain of paperwork.
"The location and name of the inn can be found in the mission scroll I gave your team. Do not fail me, Kakashi."
Kakashi saluted him, already falling back into his usual persona, slouching and looking for all the world like a lazy man and not the highly trained killer he was.
"You can count on me, Hokage-sama," he said easily, before turning away towards the door.
"I know I can, Kakashi," was the last thing he heard the Hokage mutter as he left the room. "I know I can."
*the girl who went gravedigging and learned to talk to trees*
Sakura watched eagerly as Kakashi walked out of the Hokage's office. He didn't seem any different. His silver hair still spiked to the side oddly and his one visible eye regarded her and the two boys lazily.
"What did the Hokage talk to you about?" She asked, a bit too eagerly.
"Mah, nothing much," Kakashi drawled. "Just catching up on old times."
She frowned inwardly. It could be true. She knew that Kakashi had trained under the fourth Hokage, who had in turn been a disciple of Jiraiya, one of the three sannin, who had been a student of the third Hokage. It wasn't unreasonable for them to have a history together. Still, she doubted it.
She'd been suspicious before, and Kakashi's refusal to tell them only heightened this suspicion. Of course, it was also possible that the jounin was simply being his usual, irritating self and lying to them because he found it funny, but something told her otherwise.
"That's boring!" Naruto said loudly, practically in Kakashi's face. "I want to know when our mission starts!"
The man sighed. "Meet me at the East gate in an hour. That should give you enough time to pack and say goodbye to whomever you need to."
"Don't forget that the Hokage requested the details of this mission to be kept under wraps," he added as an afterthought, eyeing Naruto.
Sakura nodded, already mentally planning out what she would need to bring. As for goodbyes, well she supposed she should probably inform her mother how long she'd be gone, not that she thought the other woman would care.
Next, for some reason, she thought of Ino. She wasn't exactly on the friendliest terms with the blond kunoichi, but Kakashi had told them to say goodbye to whomever they needed to.
Her mind wandered, imagining if she never came back. She would have regretted not saying goodbye to Ino before she died, she supposed. But the idea of facing her ex-best friend scared her more than she was willing to admit. Besides, she wasn't the same little girl anymore, forced to hide in Ino's shadow. She had Naruto and Sasuke now, she thought with a bit of venom.
Wincing, she pushed the thoughts of death from her mind.
It was just a C-rank, it would be fine.