AN: Alas, Naruto is still not for sale, so I cannot buy it... Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing!
-demonicnargles
"Speech"
thought / talking in mind
"Demon speech"
Demon thought / talking in mind
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At Kakashi's request, Kyuubi was walking with the group on this mission. Although the demon was loath to waste time by walking, Kakashi had a point. The bandits would be more likely to detect them if Kyuubi was running around.
The demon adjusted his mask, which he always wore while training or on missions. With it on, only his eyes were visible, making him effectively invisible on dark nights. Which, of course, was the only time team seven could travel, if they hoped to catch the bandits.
Kyuubi mentally checked his genjutsu. It was still there and functioning properly, so he just added a little more chakra to make it last longer. After the incident on the mission to Wave Country, Kyuubi couldn't be too careful.
Kakashi, walking a pace or two ahead of the genin, raised his hand, signaling them to stop. He looked ahead for a moment, then turned and addressed the young ninja in a soft whisper.
"I'm going ahead to take a look at that cave. I can see some sort of light coming out, and it could be the thugs we've been looking for. You wait here. If I do not return within ten minutes, go back to Konoha. Understand?"
The genin nodded, and Kakashi leapt into a tree and moved stealthily towards the cave.
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Sasuke looked at the black silhouette that sat against a tree just a few feet away. Uzamaki Naruto. Sasuke wondered what went on in the blonde genin's mind. Sasuke remembered, not too many years ago, when Naruto wore his loud orange pants and jacket, and complemented these with a loud attitude and frequent, loud outbursts. Then the boy had changed, his quiet and passive attitude and his expressionless face contrasting sharply with his outfit. Then, for no apparent reason, Naruto had changed again, abandoning the orange outfit for a new, black one.
None of it made sense. Sasuke couldn't see why Naruto would have done any of this. And there was also the radical improvement in the blonde's skills. Sasuke remembered, not even a year ago, when Naruto had been failing every class. But Naruto had passed somehow, and even managed to be helpful during the bell test. And although Kakashi had never said anything more than, "Naruto defended himself well," Sasuke felt that Naruto had done something amazing on the bridge in Wave. Sasuke could see it in the way Kakashi paused before saying that Gatou's men had been 'taken care of.'
Naruto's sudden improvement was not unlike Sasuke's older brother... Sasuke scowled at the thought. I am an Uchiha. I will be better than Naruto, and avenge my clan.
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Kakashi saw the men inside the cave. Of the four, three were sleeping. The fourth kept watch, sitting on a wooden stool, facing out of the cave, with the smoldering fire behind him casting his shadow far into the forest.
This will be excellent practice in stealth for my students. Kakashi looked, and saw that there was a small sack next to each sleeping man. Perfect.
Kakashi hurried back to his team.
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Sasuke crept silently along the rock wall until he stood near the entrance of the cave, but not in the light cast by the fire. Kakashi had found the bandits hiding in this natural cavern, and had decided that, to test their skill, they would go one at a time, and take a sack from beside one of the sleeping men., without being caught.
The cave was strange in appearance. Only a rock dome stuck out, about 20 feet above ground, with a hole ten foot hole in one side. This hole led into the cave, which, according to Kakashi, appeared to continue far underground. The bandits were at the bottom of the initial slope of the cave, which led to a flatter part about 15 feet underground. That was where the bandits slept.
Sasuke glanced around the corner. The stalactites hanging from the ceiling cast long, thin shadows across the ceiling, which moved back and forth with the flickering of the fire. There had to be a way to get past the guard.
Then Sasuke saw a small boulder inside the cave, sitting near the wall about halfway down the incline. Sasuke crawled commando-style, staying in the shadow of the rock. Once he was there, he looked further down from the small space between the rock and the wall. Sasuke could see the guard.
The guard looked toward he entrance of the cave for a while. Then he started to nod off, his head drooping low. But before Sasuke could emerge from his hiding spot, the man jerked back to attention. This continued several times, until Sasuke could almost feel the rhythm of the man's fatigue.
Once again, the man started to nod off, and Sasuke was ready, while the guard's eyes were half-closed and he was looking down, Sasuke leapt over him and landed just on the other side of the fire. Because he had trained extensively, and because his sandals were covered in cloth, he made almost no noise when he landed. He looked back. The man was gazing intently at the entrance of the cave. Sasuke stepped over one of the sleeping men and grabbed a sack. He lifted it slowly, feeling its weight. He couldn't afford to be given away by the jangle of coins or metal trinkets. He held the sack tightly against his chest with both hands. In this way, he could jump without fear of making noise. When the man was momentarily off guard, Sasuke leaped over him and landed in the shadow of the rock. He quickly dropped to his stomach, clutching the sack underneath himself.
"What was that? Who's there?"
Sasuke froze. He had been found out. But before he stood to run away, he heard the man's voice again.
"Stupid fire. All those flickering shadows are going to drive me insane..."
Sasuke smiled, and inched his way out of the cavern. Once he was outside, he jogged back to Kakashi, handing over the sack.
"Very good, Sasuke. We haven't done much work with stealth, so that was very good. You go next, Naruto."
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Kyuubi crouched silently at the edge of the cave. How on Kami's green earth was he supposed to get one of those sacks? He knew Kakashi would not send genin on missions they were unprepared for. He and Naruto thought for a while. Then they remembered the strange training that Kakashi had made them do after returning from Wave. Sakura hadn't come, as she had done it while Sasuke and Naruto had guarded the bridge.
Tree climbing exercises. Good for chakra control. Kyuubi had integrated that into his training, spending about half his time running up and down trees. But this technique was not limited to trees.
Kyuubi pressed his hand against the stone outside the cave, getting a feel for it, understanding how it was different from a tree. Once he was confident of his knowledge, he climbed the rough rock wall until he was above the entrance of the cave. Then he climbed inside.
Kyuubi snuck along the roof of the cave. There were numerous stalactites, almost making progress difficult. But their flickering shadows made his black shape unnoticeable.
The demon continued along the ceiling, hidden by the protrusions of rock, until he was behind the guard and the fire. He dropped down, grabbed a sack, and put it in one of the front pockets of his black vest. The vest was almost too small for the muscles that Kyuubi had built since purchasing it, so the sack was wedged tightly in the pocket. Then he climbed up the wall, crawled along the ceiling out of the cave, and returned to Kakashi.
Kyuubi handed Kakashi the sack.
"Good work, Naruto. It's your turn, Sakura."
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Sakura stood at the entrance for what seemed like hours. She couldn't think of anything. She was clad in her normal red dress, which was no good for stealth. But this was supposed to be about stealth.
Then it came to her.
She waited until the guard's head started to droop, then threw a kunai straight at his head, handle first. It hit the man, knocking him out. That was planned. What was not planned was the loud clatter the kunai made when it hit the ground.
The sleeping men stirred. Sakura ran as silently as she could, grabbed a sack, and ran out.
"What was that?"
"Hell if I know, I was asleep, and- Hey! What happened to him!"
"There's knife sitting next to him!"
Sakura ran out of earshot, back to Kakashi. She handed him the sack.
"I'm impressed, Sakura. I didn't-"
Kakashi stopped speaking when he saw three men emerge from the cave, weapons drawn. Two had swords, and one had a long knife. They looked around wildly, but team seven had jumped into the trees, and so stayed unseen. The men stared into the woods for a while longer, then went hurried back into the cave, talking in raised voices.
"That will make this a bit more difficult," Kakashi said.
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End of chapter. Please review!