I do not own Naruto. I would but I could not get the guy to go for a ball of pocket lint.

Scouting the Enemy

Anko and Kakashi had a plan together in about 15 minutes. Kiba, Shino and Hinata would go toward the north end of the island and scout out the warehouse the exchange was supposed to take place in. Sakura and Sasuke would patrol around the south end of the island while Naruto went into town for some food and to listen to gossip. Naruto tried to argue in order to get time near Hinata but Anko merely threw a kunai that cut his cheek and said 'No'. Naruto was grumbling as he left the house.

Sasuke was not in a much better mood as he left with Sakura to patrol the south end of the island. The forest there would make a good staging point to head toward the bridge and fallback position if anything went wrong. It would be best to make sure the enemy was not already there. The prospect of a fight at least got the Uchiha out the door.

Hinata, Kiba and Shino left without a word of protest. They all knew that under different circumstances they might have been assigned together as part of a recon team but the Hokage's plan had changed that. Their current assignments all were geared toward a more martial use of their abilities. A brief conversation got them organized and they moved out toward their goal.

Anko sighed and sat down at the table to wait with Kakashi. She rubbed her temples, as her headache would not quit. "You know Kakashi, I think you got lucky having all boys on your squad."

"Oh? Why do you say that, Anko? I had noticed you seemed a bit upset with Naruto. He did not go pulling his Sexy technique on anyone did he?" Kakashi chuckled.

"I wish it was that simple. We ran into Jiraiya doing some peeping and the old goat got a shadow clone of Naruto to go shouting out he did not like Hinata in front of the rest of us. Hinata ran off crying and things just got crazy after that. A few hours later your dog shows up and we are sent on this mission with nothing resolved."

"Hmm, that does not really sound like something Naruto would do, Anko. I have watched the pair of them on many pranks before I got this assignment and they really seemed fond of one another."

"I know. Something is not right about all this. I even got upset at him last night when he said he did not do anything wrong. Once we get this mission out of the way, we can get everything worked out. For right now, I am just trying to keep them apart as much as possible and focused on what needs to get done," Anko said.

"I don't agree with your logic, but they are your students."

Sakura followed along behind Sasuke as they walked along the forest path. The ground here was high enough that a true forest could grow instead of the smaller stunted trees near the tidal marshes. The ocean sounds in the distance made it have a different feel than the forest near Konoha that Sakura was used to.

"You know, I bet an observation post up in the tallest trees could keep a eye on the whole island," she told Sasuke.

'Hn, what would a fan girl like you know about something like that?" Sasuke grumbled. "I had hoped to get some training in and maybe fight someone. Instead I get stuck on babysitting detail."

"Gee, arrogant much, Sasuke?" Sakura came back at him. The former crush she had on him evaporated even faster. She knew she was a lot better than she had been in the Academy. It made her angry that Sasuke was dismissing her so blatantly. "Only one of us is acting like they need a babysitter and I am not getting paid enough to do that." At that, Sakura leapt up into a tree and ran along a few branches to get away from the boy.

Sasuke was startled at Sakura just disrespecting him like that and even more by her running up the tree and leaving him behind. He could not tree run yet and here this no clan girl was doing something he could not. He growled deeply as he realized this was something else that Kakashi had not taught him due to more useless teamwork exercises slowing him down.

"Sakura," he called out. "Come back down here."

After a few minutes, Sakura returned to the ground and looked at Sasuke.

"Teach me that," he commanded.

Sakura was again offended by his attitude and sense of superiority. "Shouldn't you have your sensei teach you techniques, Sasuke?"

"Apparently, he thinks teamwork exercises are more important. Now, teach me how to do that. I need to get stronger."

"Wow, for someone from such a great clan as yours, you sure are a rude guy, you know that Sasuke? If you were more polite, I might consider it."

Sasuke growled under his breath again. This girl was really pissing him off now. If he had his Sharingan active, he would not even need to ask how to be shown something. He would only need to watch and copy it.

"Teach it to me, … please." Sasuke finally said almost spitting out the final word.

Sakura smiled at her small victory. "Well, since you asked so nicely. Okay."

Sakura spent the next few hours showing Sasuke the basics of tree climbing. For some reason, him having trouble with the technique and needing to ask for more help pleased the pink haired genin.

Naruto got to the small village and looked around for a place to buy groceries. He noticed the place was as run down and dirty as the neighborhood he lived in. He brought what he could from the poor selection the grocer had in stock. A lot of the canned food was expired so he paid the higher prices for the slightly spoiled vegetables and poor quality rice on hand.

He could not engage anyone in conversation. They all just looked down in a defeated fashion and avoided eye contact with everyone else on the street. It was very frustrating for Naruto. He was not going to get any information this way. He saw a few mercenaries walking down the street in a haughty manner. Naruto realized that dressed as he was, he would be spotted quickly as being an outsider.

Stepping into an alley, he stashed the bag of groceries behind a barrel. He made a henge to disguise himself as a dirty street kid instead of a ninja. For once his short stature was an asset as it allowed him to appear younger than he truly was.

He approached the mercenaries and put on the most pitiful look he could think of.

"Please, mercenary-sama, can I have some money to get a bite to eat? My parents are sick and we have not eaten in days."

One of the mercenaries looked over Naruto. He saw a dirty dark haired dark eyed boy of about 10 years old. "I don't recognize you kid. Are you from around here?"

Naruto knew that one mercenary seemed a bit smarter so he went with his best guess. "No, mercenary-sama, my parents and me were thrown off the last ship through here because they were sick. The captain worked for Gato-sama and did not think he should carry sick passengers without an extra payment from them. My parents had spent all their money on passage and had nothing else. We are stranded until they get better." Naruto managed to produce a few tears to go with his sob story.

The mercenary laughed. "It serves them right for getting sick. You amuse me kid so here ya go." The man pulled out a small coin and dropped it into the muck at his feet. Playing along, Naruto went to his knees in the slime and bowed down to get the coin.

"Thank you mercenary-sama. My parents thank you as well."

One of the other mercenaries noticed, "Quit playing with the kid. We need to get back to our patrol. The boss said some ninja got into a fight with the ones the boss hired to take out that bridge builder. They might be hiding somewhere in town. I don't see why we just don't go over to the bridge guy's house and kill him ourselves."

"You idiot. The more bodies show up, the more the daimyo would be snooping around to find out who killed them. We can strong arm the locals but we can't kill them. If we kill people, it leaves a trail back to Gato-sama. Hired ninja that can just disappear after the deed is done leave him a deniable out. No one can prove he did anything wrong that way."

Naruto listened in silence. He just stayed still while kneeling in the muck at the mercenaries' feet. 'That explains why these people did not just kill the kid and the old guy. Gato might have power but he still needs permission to operate in a feudal lord's domain.'

The mercenaries took off on their walk through town. Once they were out of sight Naruto got up and dropped the henge. He went back for the groceries and ran toward Tazuna's house.

Hinata, Shino and Kiba with Akamaru headed north through the scrub trees that covered good portion of the north half of the island. Shino had a small number of bugs out and constantly returning to him for recon purposes. This part of the island had few inhabitants and it made it easier to avoid contact with anyone. The few patrols they encountered were easily bypassed. Kiba and Akamaru kept their ears open and Hinata ran along with her Byakugan active. Once they got with a line of sight to the warehouse, they found a place to lay low and observe.

Kiba could not do much from this distance so he just kept watch around them while Hinata and Shino gathered information. He sent Akamaru off to various locations to scout out animal paths in the area.

Hinata was telling Shino areas to check on with his bugs. They were an hour into observations when Kiba got really bored. He noticed Hinata keep wiggling on the sandy ground. After that, he spent as much time checking out Hinata as he did watching the local area for enemies.

"Hinata, I noticed things are a little cold between you and Naruto, you guys not hanging together anymore?"

"Kiba, now is not a good time to discuss such things," Shino pointed out.

"I was just trying to pass the time, Shino. There is no one within a mile of us."

"I am not currently speaking to Naruto-san, Kiba. We had a disagreement and Anko-sensei does not want us dealing with things until after the current mission is over."

Kiba took this to mean that Hinata had broken up with Naruto; in spite of the fact the pair were never officially together as a couple. 'Sweet, I can make a move,' he thought.

Kiba moved up next to Hinata to look out at the warehouse in the distance. He placed his hand on Hinata's butt and left it there as he tried to see anything.

"Kiba," Hinata said softly.

"Yes," he replied in the same tone.

"If your hand is not removed immediately, you will lose it. Also, if you try anything like that again, you will learn what it feels like to be neutered." She looked directly into Kiba's eyes. "Do you understand?"

Kiba saw the cold and scary look on the normally gentle girl's face. He gulped and back away from Hinata. "Yes, Ma'am."

Hinata almost laughed at the look on Kiba's face and was glad her sensei had taught her how to look mean when necessary.

Shino shook his head and listened to his bugs returning with information. "Idiot."

Naruto told Anko and Kakashi about his encounter with the mercenaries. Kakashi nodded at the fact that the mercenaries were hesitant to kill Tazuna directly. Gato needing to keep up a semi-respectable front was important for his business to grow to new markets The fact that the villagers were so beaten down and demoralized would make things harder to the combined teams. If things went bad the next day there would be no falling back to a friendly position.

Shino and Kiba arrived about mid afternoon. They had good intelligence on the warehouse and surrounding area. Kiba marked off the best approaches on dry land and Shino told them of a shallow path through the marshy ground that the mercenaries did not patrol.

"We should be able to get much closer to the exchange point by following this route. My bugs report that the route is exposed at low tide but remains more solid than the land around it."

Naruto chimed in, "Where is Hinata?"

"She stopped about a mile back to gather some wild medicinal herbs she saw. She expressed a desire to avoid confrontations and would remain outside until dinnertime. I have a relay of my kikai watching over her and sending me information on her position as well as marking her with a female to track her if she moves away from that grove. She relayed all needed information to me."

Naruto huffed, as he wanted to talk to Hinata and stalked outside to go sit on the dock. Anko followed after him while Shino and Kiba continued their report.

Naruto plopped down on the dock and just started out at the water. Anko walked up and leaned on a piling and looked at him.

"You seem pretty frustrated, Naruto. Kakashi and me were talking while you guys were all out. I talked to him a bit about what has been going on."

"Oh great, why not just broadcast it to the world. The whole team thinks Naruto is a grand pervert."

Anko frowned. "That was something that was never brought up. Actually, he told ME that I was being a bit harsh and not listening to your side of things. After I thought about things for a few minutes, I realized I hadn't been listening. It was when he asked me what it was you actually said that I realized I had simply jumped onto Hinata's side of things. Remember, Sakura was closest to the Jiraiya and the clone, then you and Hinata and I was furthest away. We all moved closer after the initial shout and I saw Jiraiya with his perverted grin on his face talking to the clone; then the clone shouting back at him getting louder with each word. All I really caught was 'I don't like her like that'. You grinned like an idiot, Hinata started crying and ran off and Sakura took off after her. I was mad at Jiraiya for being there and began pounding on him. We just left you there at the river and never got what was going on."

Naruto just kept staring out at the water for a few minutes before responding. Anko could barely hear his voice. "Does it really matter anymore? You all turned against me. I keep trying to explain things and you tell me to shut up. I told you last night I didn't say anything wrong and you yelled at me for it. I just don't understand all this. I don't understand why Hinata was crying. I don't understand why you're mad over it. I can't think straight and I have this empty feeling in my chest that won't go away." Naruto just lowered his head fighting back tears.

Anko sighed. She had been so caught up in Hinata being hurt that she had not considered that Naruto was hurting just as badly. The boy had so much energy and seemed so carefree that she forgot how little social experience he had for most of his life. There were so many things he was ignorant about. It was so hard dealing with people as wounded emotionally as she had been. She could not be the cast iron bitch all the time around these kids. They dragged her defenses down too easily. She sat down next to Naruto and just held him.

"What happened down there by the river Naruto?"

"The clone found Jiraiya-sensei peeping at women. He yelled at Sensei for doing it. I mean the guy was supposed to be out of Konoha, right? Well, Sensei started talking about me looking at Hinata and how I must be such a pervert and thinking about doing perverted stuff with her. The clone started yelling at him that Hinata was a princess and my best friend and that I don't like her like that. Then everything bad happened."

Anko lowered her head. "Ugh, this is a mess. The ONLY part of that the girls and I heard was the very end. Hinata ran off thinking you did not like her the same way she likes you."

"Naruto, we all owe you a huge apology. You said something that we all took out of context."

"What does context mean?"

Anko chuckled, "It means you said one thing and we heard something else. You relax some, kiddo. I'll talk to Hinata and explain everything that went on. I promise we will get everything fixed up after tomorrow, okay?"

Naruto just nodded and sat there as Anko got up and walked back toward the house. 'He thinks she is a princess? Oh boy. Kakashi was wrong on that count. He doesn't just like her, he got it BAD.'

Hinata wandered around the meadow picking out medicinal herbs. She liked the way Tsunade and Anko had expanded her own knowledge of herbology. She had made her own ointments for years before the fire. They were one thing she had always been good at before … before Naruto. Tsunade had even been impressed by one first aid cream she had devised. Of course, Anko had taught a whole different array of uses for herbs that she had never considered. Change one ingredient and a medicine would become a deadly poison. Some of the poisons Hinata had learned were useful for a few of her new jutsu. She of course avoided the deadly ones. She could deal with making people sick for a few days but not killing them in minutes. She COULD kill but she chose not to do it. She chuckled a little at Sakura wanting to refuse to learn poisons but Tsunade had insisted. Knowing how to kill someone was a step in healing them. If you knew a poison, you could find its antidote. It was actually kind of funny that healers knew more ways to kill a person than most ninja.

"Oh, I did not expect anyone to be here," a voice said.

Hinata turned startled. She had been so involved in her thoughts she never noticed someone's approach.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." A slight and fairly androgynous young man in a girl's kimono was standing about 10 yards away and holding a basket with several varieties of herbs in it.

"Is this your meadow?" Hinata asked.

"No, I just was out and about trying to find some things to make something for a friend. He was set upon by some ruffians and has quite a bit of bruising. I do not normally come to this part of the island," the boy said.

"It is a lovely place," Hinata said with a small smile. "The ocean nearby is nice to look at."

The boy nodded. "It makes one feel small, doesn't it? I'm Haku."

"Hinata"

"A lovely name," Haku said as he reached down to pick a few herbs. "You are a ninja? I noticed you have a headband of one around your neck."

"Yes, I am."

"You must be very strong to be all the way out here alone."

"My friends are close by, plus, I am not exactly alone." Hinata pointed to a few bugs circling her head. "They are keeping track of me."

"Interesting. You seemed sad when I came up. Is something bothering you?"

"Um, well, it's just a problem with a person I know."

"Is this person precious to you?"

"Well, sort of, but I am not sure if I am to him. He said some things … that hurt."

"Ah, well, boy troubles are the worst kind for a young lady. But they always pass, in time. I should really get going. My friend will need his medicine soon. Be careful, the ruffians might still be on the island."

Hinata waved as Haku walked off. She sighed and decided she had enough surprises for one day and headed back to Tazuna's house.

Sasuke and Sakura came in about an hour before sunset. Sasuke was dirty and worn but seemed to be full of himself, as always. He had mastered climbing a tree to the top. He had begun hopping between branches but was not up to Sakura's level yet. He knew that all he needed was some more practice and he would soon be superior to the girl once more.

Sakura seemed frustrated and just glared at everyone. She had never realized just how bad the Uchiha truly was. Once he had the basic idea down, the boy had blown her off and would not accept any criticism of his technique. He learned tree climbing quicker than Naruto had but his arrogance was obvious. How did she ever like this boy?

The group was silent during dinner. Anko and Kakashi gave out assignments for the morning and went over the basic plan. They sent the teams to bed early since they would be rising before dawn to get into position. Anko went with Hinata and Sakura to sleep in Inari's room while the boy got shuffled in with Tazuna.

Anko looked over at the girls. "Tomorrow we need to have our heads on straight so I will just let you both know a few things now. The whole bit with Naruto a couple of days ago. Let it go. I talked with him this afternoon and there were a few things that were said that we did not hear. What we did hear was completely out of context. We will sit down with Naruto after all this and talk it out. Hinata, just remember that he considers you his best friend and he does care about you a lot. Sakura, there will be no need for pounding Naruto into pulp after the mission because of the past couple of days. Now, lets get some sleep. It has been a very long and exhausting day and I think tomorrow is going to be worse.

"Zabuza-sama, the enemy has received reinforcements; at least another squad. I fear they will try to set a trap at the exchange."

"Don't worry, Haku. They are not the only ones to have a surprise waiting tomorrow."

Next Chapter: Swords and Hostages

End Notes: A lot of people made comments on the 'little problem' I created for the team seemed to be dragging out. I'll address a few concerns that were brought up. I know the story has been posted over a couple of weeks real time, but the time frame for this whole problem is actually quite narrow. I pictured the incident happening around noon. Pakkun arrives in Konoha around 4PM the same day. An hour later, the team is out on the road to Wave. They are on the move almost constantly and arrive at Tazuna's place shortly after breakfast, about 40 hours or so after Pakkun got to Konoha. That is the point this chapter begins at. There was no time in there for any resolution of the problem.

Narutomaniac brought up a solid point regarding how easily I had Sasuke defeat the quad of water clones against him, but I felt I had covered that in Sasuke noticing how much weaker the clones were compared to the first one team 7 faced. The weaker ones were no match for a still fresh Sasuke. I personally think Sasuke is an a$$ but in terms of raw power, he is already into chunin level. It is his 'I don't work and play well with others' attitude that is holding him back. For Sasuke lovers, he is only going to get worse as more things do not go his way. So Sorry. His mindset will not allow him to see, his attitude is the very reason he is being held back in Konoha. In a different village, he would be a chunin already.