Sea birds squawked and flew in the deep cerulean sky, swooping down and dipping into the water to catch fish before returning to their nests on the rocky shoreline. Houses were built over top of the water, forming a village entirely free of dry land.

Kakashi lay on a sleeping mat, now awake with his eye partially open as he took in his surroundings. "It seems I've overused my Sharingan..."

A dark-haired woman approached him as she noticed his eyes were finally open. "Are you alright, Sensei?"

"Not really..." Kakashi turned to her and answered. "It will be hard just to move for about a week..." He attempted to sit up, his body aching in protest.

The woman rested her hands on her hips and furrowed her brows. "Well, then, it would be better if you didn't move for a while."

"O-Okay." Kakashi blinked up at her. And lay back down, pulling the blanket back over himself.

Sakura peered around the corner, and then the rest of Team Seven entered and looked at Kakashi.

"Hey! Sensei's awake!" Naruto grinned.

Sakura knelt beside Kakashi, scolding. "Come on! Your Sharingan is fantastic, but if it puts that much of a strain on your body, it may not be worth it!"

"S-Sorry." Kakashi turned to look at her.

"But you know..." Tazuna dabbed at his brow with a handkerchief, having come in behind the Genin. "He did take down a real powerful Ninja like that! There's probably no need to worry for a while."

"Anyway..." Sakura touched her chin in thought. "That kid with the mask... what was he?"

"He was an ANBU Black Ops agent from the Hidden Mist Village. It's a mask that the elite Ninja Tracking Unit's members wear"

"The elite Tracking Unit?" Sakura asked.

"They're commonly called the 'fire extinguishing corps,' and their duty is to erase all traces that a Ninja ever lived. The body of the Ninja reveals a variety of things... Ninjutsu secrets and Chakra characteristics which permeate the Ninja of their village. The composition of secret medicines used on a Ninja's body..."

"For instance, if I were to die," Kakashi continued. "every secret about my Sharingan would be investigated thoroughly, and in the worst case, there's a danger that my entire Jutsu could be stolen. In other words, Tracker Ninja are specialists that prevent village secrets from leaking out by killing rogue Ninja who've run away from their village and completely eliminating their bodies..."

The masked boy knelt besides Zabuza's body in a clearing and took out a satchel, unrolling it on the ground to look over the various knives as tools at his disposal. He selected a pair of scissors and his eyes fell on Zabuza's face.

"First, I'll cut the mouth cloth and have him spit up blood..."

He brought the scissors close to Zabuza,s mouth, but his arm was grabbed as Zabuza' eyes burst open suddenly, red and bloodshot.

"It's alright." Zabuza reached up with his other hand, pulling down the bandaging to uncover his mouth, revealing his sharpened teeth. "I'll do it... myself."

"What?" The boy stared down at the man, unflinching. "You've already come back to life..."

Zabuza sat up slowly and rested his arms on his lap, exhaling and refilling his lungs.

"Damn, you really are rough..." He pulled the senbon needles from his neck and tossed them to the ground.

"You too, Zabuza." The boy watched him carefully. "Please don't pull them out so violently or you really will die."

"Hmmph." Zabuza glanced over at the boy with a glare. "How long do you plan on keeping that shady-looking mask on? Take it off."

"It's a relic from the past, and it's been handy for trickery..." He reached up to remove the mask carefully, then smiled faintly. He reached up to remove the mask carefully, then smiled faintly. "But, if I hadn'trescued you, you certainly would have been killed."

Zabuza turned away and spat out a glob of saliva and blood onto the ground before he looked back at the boy. "If you were going to put me into a state of apparent death, you didn't need to aim for the secret opening on my neck." Zabuza recovered his mouth with the bandages. "You're a really nasty one."

"It couldn't be helped..." The boy smiled. "Besides, I didn't want to mark up your immaculate body. And also, I can aim more accurately on the point on the neck where there isn't much muscle."

Zabuza remained quiet and tried to stand but was unable to lift himself off the ground.

"You'll be numb for about a week and won't be able to move. But since you're Zabuza, perhaps you'll be able to recover more quickly..."

Zabuza kept his eyes on his protégé. "You're so innocent, smart, and untainted... that's what I like about you."

The boy giggled to himself, blushing faintly. "I am, after all, still only a child." He stood and looked outward at the bay. "The fog has lifted."

"Yes." Zabuza responded dully.

"Will you be alright the next time?" The boy asked, not meeting his mentor's eyes.

"The next time..." Zabuza glared. "I'll be able to see right through the Sharingan."

Kakashi sat upright carefully, holding his hand over his face in thought.

"What is this feeling? Even though Zabuza is dead... I have this indescribable uneasiness... it must mean something very important..." He let out a quiet breath. "I have the feeling I've overlooked something."

"What's going on, sensei?" Naruto asked, blinking at the Jonin.

"Hm?" Kakashi blinked and changed the subject. "Oh... so, to continue my earlier story..." He scratched his cheek, then rest his hand in his lap. "Ninja Trackers take care of the bodies of people they've killed, immediately and on the spot."

"So... what about it?" Sakura asked.

"What did that kid with the mask do with Zabuza?" Kakashi answered with another question.

"How should we know?" Sakura sighed quietly. "The masked one took Zabuza away!"

"That's right." Kakashi nodded. "If he needed proof he'd killed Zabuza, he could have simply taken the head... and the question is... the weapon that Tracker kid used to kill Zabuza..."

"A regular Senbon." Sasuke spoke up and his eyes widened slightly. "That's impossible...!"

"Right... it's impossible?" Kakashi looked at the Uchiha boy.

"What have you guys been clamoring on and on about?!" Tazuna uncrossed his arms and waved one of his hands slightly.

Kakashi lowered his hand and met the man's eyes. "It's probable that... Zabuza is actually alive."

Tazuna, Sakura, and Naruto's eyes widened and they stared in shock.

"E-Eh?!" Naruto exclaimed. "H-How?!"

"What?" The woman glanced at Kakashi once more.

"What the heck do you mean?!" Naruto clutched his fists and looked at his teacher."

"But, Kakashi-sensei, you made sure that he was dead!" Sakura voice rose slightly in alarm.

"It's true, I did make sure..." Kakashi's eyes wandered and he stared at the wall momentarily. "But he was probably just in a state of near-death." His eyes lowered as he thought. "The Senbon that Tracker Ninja used has a very low ability to kill unless it directly hits a vital spot. It's something that was originally used for medical treatments such as acupuncture therapy."

"Ninja Trackers know all about the structure of the human body... Putting people into a state of apparent near-death is probably simple for them." Kakashi explained further. "First, he went to the trouble of taking Zabuza's corpse, which was probably heavier than he is. Secondly... he used a Senbon, a weapon with a low ability to kill. From these two factors alone, that youth wasn't aiming to kill Zabuza, but to save him."

"Aren't you reading way too much into it?" Tazuna shrugged.

"No." Kakashi looked at him. "If something seems fishy, make preparations before it's too late." He narrowed his eyes. "That's also an ironclad rule of Shinobi."

Kakashi glanced up at Naruto, who was smirking slightly with one fist clenched, his body trembling.

"Hmph." Kakashi scoffed quietly. "To hear that Zabuza may be alive and to be pleased..."

"Sensei, what do we do to make preparations before it's too late?" Sakura leaned forward slightly. "You won't even be able to move properly for a while..."

Kakashi chuckled. "I'll assign you training, of course!"

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. "W-Wait a minute! Even with the training, we're not going to be that strong! Our opponent is a Ninja whom even you, with the Sharingan, had a tough fight with!" She furrowed her brows in concern. "Are you trying to kill us, Sensei?!"

"Sakura..." Kakashi looked at her. "Who was it that saved me during my difficult battle?" He narrowed his eyes. "You've all quickly grown... especially Naruto."

Naruto blinked, having only been partially paying attention. "Huh?"

Kakashi smiled at the blond, his eye creasing. "You've grown the most!"

Naruto grinned at the praise and Sakura looked at him from the corner of her eye. "He clearly does seem somewhat stronger than before, but..."

"So, you noticed, Kakashi-sensei!" His grin grew wider. "Now it's getting interesting!"

"It's not interesting at all..." A new voice came from behind and they turned to look at its owner.

Naruto squinted at the young boy that stood in the doorway and pointed his finger at him. "And who the heck are you?!"

"Oh, Inari!" Tazuna smiled broadly and held out his arms. "Where have you been?!"

The boy rushed forward and threw his arms around the old man. "Welcome back, Grandpa!"

"Inari!" His mother scolded and put her hands on her hips. "What sort of greeting is that?! These are the Ninja who escorted your grandpa!"

"It's okay, it's okay." Tazuna chuckled and patted the boy's head. "Right, Inari?"

The boy studied the Genin with a hard look, then turned to his mother with a blank expression.

"Mom, these guys will die... There's no way they can oppose Gato and win."

Naruto clenched his fists and shot a glare at the boy. "Say what, you little brat?!" He pointed at Inari and furrowed his brows. "Now, listen up! I'm a super hero who's gonna become an awesome Ninja named Hokage in the future! I don't care if it's Gato or Chocolat or whatever... I'm not worried about those guys at all!"

"Huh. A hero." The boy's expression darkened and he turned his head downward so his hat covered most of his face. "That's ridiculous! There's no such thing!"

"What did you say?!" Naruto stepped toward the boy with his fists readied and Sakura grabbed him, holding him back.

"Stop that!"

The boy turned his back to them to leave, then glanced over his shoulder coolly. "If you don't want to die, you'd better hurry up and go home..." He left the room, leaving Sasuke to narrow his eyes in thought.

"Inari!" Tazuna called out to him. "Where are you going?"

"The sea..." The boy glanced back at his grandfather. "I'll be looking at the sea..."

Once he had gone, Sakura released Naruto and Tazuna turned to the blond.

"I apologize."

Naruto kept his jaw tight as he glared at the doorway the boy had left through. After a while, he went upstairs to look for him.

"Darn..." Naruto muttered under his breath. "That brat... I need to tell him a thing or two!" As Naruto approached the door in the hall, his paced slowed and he leaned closer to listen. "Huh?" His body relaxed as he recognized the sound coming from within the room and peered through the thin crack of the door. "Is he... crying?"

Inari sat on his desk with his window open, clutching a photograph in his hands as he cried and faced the sea. "Dad..."

Naruto's eyes fell to the floor and he stepped back from the room with his stomach twisting into knots.

Naruto sighed as he stretched in his pajamas, nearly ready for bed. The gnawing feeling in his gut had continued to grow and he clutched at his stomach, frowning. "What's with this feeling?" Natsumi's face appeared in his mind and he pressed his lips together tightly. "I wonder if Natsumi is okay..."

"What's wrong?" Kakashi glanced at Naruto, tilting his head slightly.

"I-It's nothing." Naruto scratched his head and lowered his other hand from his stomach. "I just miss Natsumi is all."

"Natsumi?" Tsunami looked over at Naruto and smiled. "Is that the name of your girlfriend?"

Naruto blinked and blushed. "W-What?! No!" He shook his head quickly. "Natsumi's my sister."

"Ah, so that's it." Tsunami looked at him. "I didn't know you had a sister. What's she like?"

Naruto nodded and chuckled, retrieving a picture of him and his twin from his backpack to show the woman.

"We're twins, ya know, but we don't look anything alike! She's always acting like she's older than me and nagging me to do chores." He crossed his arms and made a face. "And she's always so busy, busy, busy with her training and won't ever let me join her." He smiled again, relaxing his arms. "But, she's also really fun to be around, too. She's not bad at cooking, even if we don't have a lot of food at home, and she's always looking out for me."

"How cute." Tsunami leaned down to smile at the picture. "You may not have the same hair and eyes, but I can see the resemblance there. You're definitely siblings."

Naruto sighed softly and stared at the photo in his hands. "Natsumi and I have never been apart for this long before... I guess, without her, I just feel like I've got a big hole in me."

"Well, I'm sure she's missing you just as much." Tsunami giggled. "You know, some old wives' tales say that twins have a natural psychic link to sense the other's emotions— even from far away."

"Really?" Naruto blinked and looked from the woman back to the picture. "Then... every time I think about her... I have this bad feeling like something is wrong." He frowned slightly. "Could she be in trouble?"

Tsunami shrugged and shook her head. "I'm sure she's fine. I'm not sure how true those sayings are, but it could just be that you're homesick. It's only natural."

"Yeah..." Naruto muttered to himself and clutched at his stomach again.

"It's as she said." Kakashi shrugged and looked at him. "I'm sure Natsumi is doing fine."

"I wonder if her mission is going alright." Naruto wondered aloud. "She said it would be easy, but the Old Man said it would be her first important mission..."

Kakashi watched Naruto as he remained deep in thought. "Even if it's just an old tale... Naruto seems genuinely concerned. I wouldn't be surprised if he could be sensing something wrong. Considering that she's ANBU... it's very possible that she could be facing danger as we speak."

"Well," Kakashi smiled at Naruto reassuringly. "Natsumi is a capable Ninja, so I'm sure everything is fine."

Naruto looked up at him and blinked. "You think so?"

Kakashi nodded and shrugged slightly, raising his arms. "Of course. I think she might even be as skilled as the three of you combined. With her level of skill, I don't think she'd run into trouble on a mission."

Naruto choked on his saliva. "W-What?! You're kidding! Natsumi can't be that strong!"

Sakura's eyes widened slightly and she lowered the glass of water she had been quietly sipping. "Stronger... than the three of us?" She glanced down at her glass. "She's definitely stronger than me... and faster, too. If Kakashi-sensei is so confident in her abilities, then it must be true... but how could someone our age be that strong?"

"Hmph." Sasuke crossed his arms and turned away. "There's no way he really believes that... he's only trying to make Naruto feel better."

"I've seen her skill assessment scores myself." Kakashi affirmed. "She's an excellent Ninja." He smiled and then looked between the Genin. "Which reminds me... it's getting late, and I have a full day of training planned for your three. You should go to sleep now so that you're well-rested in the morning."

"W-Wait a minute!" Naruto pointed at his teacher. "You can't just say something like that and tell us to go to bed! Natsumi can't really be that strong..." He lowered his arm, thinking. "...Can she?"

He held his chin in his hand and pursed his lips. "Come to think of it... she does wake up at dawn and train every single day... sometimes twice in one day. And, we haven't sparred since we were little. I wonder..." He made a face at Kakashi. "And he looks like he's telling the truth, too..."

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed. "There's no way..."

"Well, I guess the only way for you to know is to complete this training and then challenge her to a match once we get back." Kakashi chuckled and shrugged. "In the meantime, get to bed. Even if I'm in this condition, I don't plan on going easy on you tomorrow."

Naruto exhaled deeply and grunted to himself. "...Fine." He yawned and stretched again, glancing back down at the photograph he held as he waved to the others. "G'night."