Okay...I know I haven't uploaded in almost two months, and I apologize. I had promised myself that I would do better in school, and I am proud to say that my hard work is paying off! And to make up for my absence, I have made this chapter longer than usual. My chapters will usually be in a range of five to eight thousand words, but the longer the time between chapters, the longer I tend to make them. Now, my update speed will be somewhat erratic since I am busy with school, and am mostly doing my writing on weekends. However, I'll try...TRY...to update every month at least. I can't promise anything, however.

Alright, I think I've talked long enough. Enjoy the chapter :)


It had been a month since Naruto had arrived to Konoha. In those days he had spent the majority of his time with Mito, and to a lesser degree, her team. Naruto had learned enough about the other members of team seven to create a sort of mental profile of them. Sasuke was someone who couldn't let go of his past. The emotional scars of what his brother did would not heal unless he stopped focusing on the pain he feels. He was also slightly arrogant and prideful. Naruto was made aware of those flaws on his first day in the village.

Sakura on the other hand was a complete disappointment. She fawned over Sasuke almost constantly. It also didn't look like she trained at all—and if she did, she did so rarely. She had smaller reserves compared to her teammates, but her control was just as good as his own. Naruto had shaken his head at the wasted potential. At this point she was just a liability to the team.

That's not to say that Mito was without faults. She was stubborn, excessively so, and usually didn't think before she rushed into battle. While not as much of a danger as Sakura, Mito's rash actions could get someone hurt. Naruto made sure to make their spars very gruelling (in Mito's opinion) until she started to think more during a fight.

Naruto had decided that he would train Mito the same way that his parents had trained him. It was a basic system that worked on the principle of high effort, high reward. And by high effort, he really means high effort. Mito's training had begun with twenty mile run (roughly thirty-two kilometers) around the training ground. Without chakra. Afterwards, she would do fifty sit ups and push ups. Then Naruto would have her working on her chakra exercises until Kakashi showed up. At first, Naruto had gone easy on Mito because she still had to train with her team. However, she had complained once that they did literally nothing when she was training with her team. After that, Naruto had upped her training and Mito wished she hadn't have opened her mouth. The number of physical exercises increased each week as Mito grew accustomed to the routine. The one thing that amazed Naruto, however, was Mito's almost regenerative healing.

Naruto knew that most genin wouldn't be able to handle the workout that he gave Mito. Yet she was adapting to them rapidly. It seemed that every tear in Mito's muscles would heal in a fraction of the time it would take a normal person. The Uzumaki were more durable than most, but Mito's healing was just astonishing to him. Naruto marveled at the possibilities, 'If only I had that ability...' Naruto had thought with a pout. The envy left as quickly as it appeared, though. After his little moment, Naruto made Mito's training even more difficult.

After a month, Naruto was proud to say that Mito was progressing quite well. Before, she was about mid-genin level. Just a bit under Sasuke in terms of skill, but after a month the gap was completely gone. Mito's endurance was higher than it used to be, her taijutsu had improved, and her chakra control was around chunin level—which is quite high for being a young jinchuriki. Naruto was certain that if Mito were to fight with Sasuke, she would definitely win.

Once Kakashi arrived to train the team, Naruto had most of the day to himself. He would just wander around Konoha, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere, but not the people in general. Naruto could have joined Mito and her team for training, and then missions afterwards, but he didn't really feel the need. However, Mito had been talking about demanding the Old Man to give her team a higher mission while on the way to training. Naruto had decided to see how the conversation would go, he was sure to get a few laughs from it. After training Mito's team training—if it could be called that, Kakashi had led the group to the Hokage tower, Naruto following behind. They entered the building and the group walked up to the front desk. Mito seemed to shrink into herself a bit, something that Naruto frowned at.

"Team seven here to request a mission." Kakashi stated, not bothering to look up from his...literature. The woman at the front desk offered a small smile and gave her reply.

"Hokage-sama is helping with the missions today. If you want one you'll have to go to him."

"Alright." Kakashi said, nose still buried in his porn. He then motioned for his team and guest to head upstairs. They knocked on the office door and were granted permission to enter. Once inside, the group saw the elderly hokage sitting behind a desk filled with mission scrolls.

"Ah, team seven...and Naruto-san, here for your regular D-rank mission." Hiruzen asked as he began to sift through the pile of scrolls labeled by the letter D.

"No way, Old Man! I'm tired of these stupid missions! THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE CALLED MISSIONS!" Mito yelled, her temper flaring. "They're nothing but chores that people are too lazy to do! Can't we get an actual mission." Hiruzen was not surprised by her outburst. For the past month he had seen her getting increasingly irritated by the so-called "missions". Perhaps...perhaps he could give her a more difficult mission. 'It's the least I could do to make it up to her.' Hiruzen thought. He then took a minute, pretending to think about the decision.

"Hmmmm. Alright, Mito. I'll give your team a tougher mission, but I need you to know something. I know that the D-rank missions are nothing but glorified chores. However, because of the vast number of them, they provide a steady income for Konoha. Without them, we wouldn't be as well off as we are." Hiruzen explained as he picked a C-rank scroll from its respective pile. He then motioned for his aide. "Please send in Tazuna-san." The aide nodded and quickly left.

Naruto was slightly surprised, he hadn't expected the old coot to cave that quickly. 'Must be trying to get back her trust...heh, I don't think it works like that, Old Man.' Naruto thought with a snort. Naruto went to take a deep breath, but his nose was assaulted by the stench of alcohol. 'Ugh! Who the hell drinks at this fucking early!?' Naruto thought in disgust. He wasn't a fan of alochol. He had heard the stories. Hangovers, waking up in some random location, not remembering what you did last night. No thank you!

"Team seven, this is Tazuna-san, a bridge builder from the land of waves. He had contracted us to escort him back to his home and protect him from any bandits until his bridge is finished." Hiruzen said. Tazuna looked at team seven and then took a swig of his jug of alcohol.

"I pay you guys, and you give me fucking kids for protection. What kinda bull is this!" Tazuna said, obviously not happy with his escort. Kakashi was quick to put the man's fears to rest.

"Relax, if we get into any trouble then I'll keep you from dying. I'm a jounin after all." Kakashi said. Mito then took the time to add her input.

"Ya, and Naruto-sensei(1) will be there too-" She was cut off, however, by Hiruzen.

"I'm sorry, Mito, but Naruto cannot go with you." He said as he lit his pipe. Mito was now thoroughly confused.

"What!? But why?" Mito said. 'Why can't Naruto-kun come with us?' Mito thought with a frown. She had grown accustomed to him always being around. He was probably her best friend, when they weren't training of course. During training he was a complete slave driver.

"As much as I'd like to send him, he is not a ninja of this village. Civilians cannot interfere with missions, and technically Naruto is a civilian." Hiruzen explained. Mito then got a sad look on her face, but her attention was diverted to the hand that was placed on her head.

"It's okay, Mito-chan, I understand. Besides, I'm more than confident that you can handle any stupid bandit that crosses your path." Naruto assured the girl. "I have to wait for my mom to show up anyway. She'll be here any day now, and it wouldn't be good for her to arrive only to find out I'm out of the village. You'll be able to meet her once you get back." Naruto said with a smile.

"Okay, Naruto-sensei. I won't let you down." Mito said with a grin.

"Alright, you three, go home and pack for about..." Kakashi stopped and looked towards Tazuna. "How long until your bridge is finished?"

"About a month."

"...Pack a little over a month's worth of supplies. Meet at the east gate in thirty minutes." Kakashi finished as his team nodded and headed out the door. The genin quickly left to pack, but Mito stopped at the door.

"I'll see you in a month, Naruto-kun." Mito smiled as she exited the office. Naruto returned the smile and nodded his head.

"She's taken quite a shine to you, Naruto-san." Hiruzen noted. The smile on Naruto's face grew a bit as he turned towards the aged leader.

"Ya...hopefully her mission goes smoothly." Naruto said as he headed towards the exit, intent on going back to his hotel. Once he was there, he went over to his traveling bag and pulled out a notebook. The notebook was where Naruto kept all his ideas for new techniques and seals. Naruto sat down in a chair and spent the next couple hours jotting down stuff in his notebook, brow furrowed in concentration. After the fourth hour of writing Naruto was broken from his writing frenzy by a popping noise. He look over at the bed and noticed one of his mother's bird summons. He also noticed that it had a letter was tied to its leg. Naruto got up from his seat and walked towards the summon. Once the letter was taken the bird nodded its head and dismissed itself. Naruto sat on the bed and opened the letter.

Dear Naru-kun,

I'm at the south gate.

Naruto just snorted at the letter. 'Short and to the point as always, Kaa-san.' Naruto then left his hotel room and headed towards the gate his mother was at.

-With Mito-

Mito quickly rushed back to her apartment and started to get ready for the mission. She gathered some extra clothes, her canteen, some kunai and shuriken, and some ration bars. 'They taste gross, but they get the job done.' Mito thought as she frowned at the bars. She then grabbed a sealing scroll that she had prepared beforehand and sealed everything into it. Afterwards, she went to the gate to meet her team. Once at the gate, Mito noticed that she was the only one there. Deciding to relax, she sat down against the gate. Around twenty minutes later she saw her teammates walking her way, Kakashi and Tazuna arrived shortly after.

"Mito, where are your things?" He asked, seeing no bag on her person.

"I put everything in a sealing scroll." Mito replied as she gestured to the scroll strapped to her belt.

"I see. So, are we all ready to go?" Kakashi asked, reading his usual book. At his genin's nods he started to walk out the gate. The group walked in silence for a while before Sakura asked a question.

"Tazuna-san, does wave have any ninja?" She asked their client, curiosity showing on her face. After hearing the question, Kakashi decided to answer.

"No, Sakura. Nami no Kuni doesn't have any ninja." Kakashi said simply. "Their geography isn't capable of supporting a ninja village. The land is surrounded by water, making trade difficult. Especially since the area is patrolled by Kiri, which is in the middle of civil war." Kakashi further explained.

"So Nami is basically trapped with little ways to import goods?" Sasuke summarized.

"Yeah. That's why I'm trying to build a bridge to Hi no Kuni, so we can easily trade with the land of fire. It will hopefully bring Nami out of its economic depression." Tazuna said, intentionally leaving out the main reason of his country's economic misfortune.

"So how long will it take to get to Nami no Kuni?" Sakura asked.

"About two days at our current speed. We will have to take a boat to get to our destination." Kakashi said, nose-deep in his porn. He was well versed with the geography of the Elemental Nations, he had been all over the continent in his days as an Anbu. The group walked for another four hours before Kakashi noted a small puddle on the side of the road. 'It hasn't rained in over a week...who do these guys think they are kidding?' Kakashi thought with a sigh. He looked over at his genin to see if any of them noticed as well. He saw that, surprisingly, only Mito seemed to notice. 'That Naruto person must have something to do with it...' (2)He thought absentmindedly as he drifted to the back of the group. 'Time to give them a little test.' Kakashi finished his inner monologue as he prepared a replacement jutsu.

As the group walked past the puddle, two unknown ninja burst from the puddle and wrapped Kakashi in chains. The remaining members of the escort look behind them, only to stare in shock as Kakashi was shredded to pieces. The genin could only watch as their sensei was brutally killed, unknown to the fact that it was only a minor genjutsu that Kakashi had placed on a log. Naru was the first to snap out of her stupor as she threw multiple shuriken in the enemies' direction. The two ninja separated and tried to rush her, but they were stopped when a kunai pinned their chain to a tree. The two stopped and looked towards Sasuke, his arm still outstretched from his throw. The assailants detached the chain and ran towards the genin, brandishing the wicked looking claws on their arms.

Mito readied her own kunai and waited for her opponent to come closer. Quickly getting in front of her, the assassin swung his clawed hand at the genin. This was dodged, however, as Mito stepped to the side and swung her own weapon. Her attack was similarly blocked as he raised his arm, which had metal plating on the side. Mito then had to jump away to avoid a kick to her side. She then made the handsign for her favorite jutsu. In a plume of smoke, five shadow clones appeared. Each clone took out a kunai and rushed at the enemy. However, if one were to look closely, they could see a small piece of paper on one of the clone's kunai. Four of the clones were taken out without much trouble, but as the enemy blocked a slash from the last clone he noticed the kunai. His eyes widened as he looked at the explosive tag that was about to detonate. 'SHIT!' He thought before he was enveloped in a moderately sized explosion, not having enough time to do a replacement. The explosion blasted him into a tree, and was unconscious before he hit the ground(3). Mito had satisfied smile on her face as she turned towards Sasuke and his opponent.

She saw that Sasuke was having a little more trouble with his opponent. Her eyes widened when she saw Sasuke be knocked away. Using the opening, the second assassin rushed towards Sakura and Tazuna. Mito cursed as Sakura froze up, she was too far away to get to her in time. Sakura seemed snap out of it, however, and raised a kunai defensively. Just before the enemy reached the two, Kakashi appeared in a shunshin and chopped him in the neck, sending him into unconsciousness. The genin all exhaled varying sized sighs of relief.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're okay!" Sakura exclaimed in relief. Kakashi gave her an eye-smile, but the smile quickly left as he gave Tazuna a stern look.

"So Tazuna-san, looks like you have some explaining to do." Kakashi said to the sweating man.

"W-what are you talking about?" Tazuna replied nervously, hoping his innocent act worked.

"There's no point lying," Kakashi said. "those two were obviously after you. If they were trying to kill us, the last one would have killed Sasuke before heading towards Sakura." Tazuna was thinking rapidly to find a decent argument, but decided it was pointless.

"Alright...you found me out." Tazuna said with a heavy sigh. "This isn't just an escort. There's also another reason for Nami's economic crisis. A man named Gato has basically taken over Nami no Kuni."

"Gato? As in the shipping tycoon?" Kakashi asked dubiosly.

"Yes...that bastard has bled Nami dry. Even the daimyo has little money. Gato views the bridge as a threat to the monopoly he has created, and is hiring assassins to kill me." Tazuna explained.

"That would explain why the Oni Kyodai attacked us." Kakashi said. "However, you lied about the mission. It is well within our rights as shinobi of Konoha to turn around and leave you here." After hearing Kakashi's words, Tazuna grew desperate.

"Please! You can't just leave me here! If you leave, I'll surely be killed. And if I'm killed the people of Nami will hate Konoha, especially my daughter and my little grandson." Tazuna pleaded, blatantly guilt-tripping the ninja.

Kakashi, who had started to head back to Konoha, stopped after hearing the man's begging. 'For the love of...' Kakashi thought. He then turned to his genin.

"What do you guys think?" He questioned. Mito was the first to answer.

"I'm staying! He needs help, and Konoha already took his money...if his country is as poor as he says then he won't be able to get more protection. Besides, it would look bad if we just left on our first real mission." Mito said. Sasuke and Sakura both refused to leave, making Kakashi sigh at his student's stubbornness. 'These kids will be the death of me...' He thought with a sigh.

"Fine, we're staying...But I'm calling for backup. The demon brothers were C-rank criminals. Gato would surely have hired more muscle if they failed. Hopefully the backup will arrive before we run into more of Gato's assassins." Kakashi said as he summoned his fastest dog to send a message to the Sandaime. Once the message was sent, the group set off for Nami no Kuni.

-With Naruto-

As Mito and her team were leaving the village, Naruto headed towards the south gate. When he got there, he saw his mother waiting for him patiently as she sat on a bench. She had a neutral expression on her face as she looked at the village. However, her eyes visibly brightened when she saw him approaching the gate.

"Sochi-kun!" Rei exclaimed as she ran towards her son, and enveloped him in a hug. Naruto just chuckled at his mother, returning the hug. Despite being a little under forty, Rei didn't look a year over twenty. If anyone were to look, they would think that they were siblings. The only noticeable difference in her age was the minute wrinkles that gathered at the corners of her mouth. Rei was wearing a modest blue long-sleeved shirt and a black skirt that went down to her knees. She was also wearing black slippers. People wouldn't be able to tell she was a shinobi even if they tried.

"It's good to see you, Kaa-san. How was the festival?" Naruto said as they started to wander through the village.

"It was good. It was a fun break. There were a lot of casinos in the town, though." Rei said, a small smile crossing her face.

"Oh? How much did you make?" Naruto inquired.

"Not much...let's just say there are fewer casinos in that town now." Rei said with a small smirk as she patted a scroll in her pocket where she sealed all her winnings. Naruto just laughed at his mother's words. This wasn't an uncommon thing with his family. Whenever they were short on cash they would just clean out the closest casino and disappear before any of the thugs caught them. Lady Luck favored the Uzumakis, it seemed.

"That much, huh? Looks like money won't be an issue for a while." Naruto laughed. His demeanor then turned somewhat serious. "So, you read my letter...what do you think?" Rei was silent before a smile appeared on her face.

"I can't wait to meet her. If she really is Kushina-sama's child then she will be the future head of our clan(4). I will also have to make sure that she is well versed in politics." Rei said as a frown grew on her face. "If what you say is true, there will be a lot of people that would oppose her being on the council."

"True, but I'm not all that worried. I'm sure she'll be able to handle them." Naruto said offhandedly. The two then spent the next couple hours walking around the village, making idle chatter. They eventually decided to get something to eat.

"So, Sochi, do you know a good place to eat around here?" His mother asked.

"Yeah, there is this place that Mito and I would go to after training called Ichiraku's." Naruto said as he led his mother to the stand. Once the two got to the stand and took a seat, they were greeted by Ayame.

"Hello, Naruto-san." Ayame said as she greeted her friend.

"Hey, Ayame-san." Naruto replied, he then turned to his mother. "this is Ayame Ichiraku, her father owns this stand."

"Hello, Ayame-san. My name is Rei, I'm Naruto's mother." Rei said as she extended her hand in a friendly gesture. She may be cold to people, but she was sure as hell going to be polite about it. Ayame gained a shocked look as she shook Rei's hand.

"You're his mother?! You barely look twenty!" Ayame said, clearly baffled.

"Must be good genes." Naruto said with a knowing grin. Ayame quickly got over her shock and took their order. Naruto got his usual two bowls of beef, and his mother ordered a bowl of pork ramen. Both mother and son spent around two hours, chatting with each other. It had been close to sun down when they began bouncing ideas around about Mito's training.

"Have you checked her affinity yet?" Rei asked her son.

"Not yet. I've been getting her control up to par. Considering her condition, it should have been a priority during the academy." Naruto said with a frown. "I guess it's better late than never."

"Well, you did say that she is a fast learner, especially since she can create so many shadow clones." Rei said.

"That's true...I was so shocked when I saw her create over five hundred clones, but I'm not complaining. It helped her get her control up to par."

"Heheh, you always were obsessed about your chakra control." Rei laughed at her son.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Kaa-san." Their conversation was put on hold, however, when an Anbu appeared outside the stand. The Anbu lifted the flap and got Naruto's attention.

"Naruto-san, Hokage-sama requests your presence. He said it was urgent—something regarding team seven." Before the Anbu knew it, Naruto was gone.

Naruto had dashed out of the stand at his max speed. Something had gone wrong on the mission, he could just feel it. His worries grew as he got closer to the tower. Naruto had forgone using the door and jumped straight to the window of Hiruzen's office. Once inside he voiced his concerns.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, worst case scenarios racing through his head.

"Relax, Naruto-san." Hiruzen said soothingly. "Team seven is fine, they just had a run in with some missing ninja."

"Then what is the problem?" Naruto said as he sighed in relief.

"Kakashi felt that they weren't out of danger yet and requested some backup." Hiruzen said.

"Backup...but I thought that civilians couldn't interfere with missions."

"Who said I was sending you." Hiruzen said with a neutral look. "I'm just explaining the situation. If you decided to...Oh I don't know...take a visit to Nami no Kuni—you know, like a vacation...and help a group of travelers in need of assistance, who am I to stop you?" He finished rhetorically. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he got the real message.

"Go help them, you have my permission."

"You're not so bad after all, Sandaime." Naruto said with a smirk. Naruto then left the office same way he came. Once he was back on the street he spotted his mother running towards him.

"Naruto, is everything alright?" Rei asked her son worriedly.

"Change of plans, Kaa-san. Looks like you'll be meeting Mito-chan earlier than expected." Naruto said.

"We need to get to Nami no Kuni, Mito's team was sent on a mission there and they need backup."

"And we're the backup, correct?" Rei asked as she activated a seal on her arm. She was enveloped in a plume of smoke, and once it dissipated, it revealed her in her kunoichi gear that resembled an Anbu uniform. However, unlike Konoha's uniform, Rei had a black long-sleeved shirt and the armor was a dark red color. Rei's hair was also pulled into a tight ponytail that was also tied at the end.

"Yep." Naruto said as he unsealed his dagger and fastened it horizontally across the small of his back.

"So which gate to we go through?"

"West."

The two raced towards the west gate, towards the setting sun. Naruto understood that Nami no Kuni was about a three day walk—not counting the boat ride. However, at an ninja's pace it would take about a day and a half. Luckily for the Uzumaki duo, they weren't average ninja. Naruto had trained his speed quite a bit, and Rei was just naturally fast. They should be able to get to Mito's group by sunrise. The two dashed through the west gate, completely disregarding the ninjas guarding it and hauled ass towards Nami no Kuni.

'You better be alright, Mito.' Naruto thought as jumped through the trees, clearly worried for his student.

Mito and the rest of team seven had a rather rough night. The genin were exposed, for the first time, to something that shinobi deal with constantly—paranoia. They weren't sure if any enemies would attack when most of them were asleep. There would be one person keeping watch during the night, and everyone would take a shift. Mito was given the last shift before sunrise and was having trouble keeping her eyes opened, she hadn't been able to sleep well. She was so out of it, that she didn't noticed the two figures that entered their camp until one of them wave a hand in her face. Startled, Mito swung her kunai at who ever was in front of her. The figure leaned back, dodging the swipe.

"Whoa! Mito-chan, watch where you swing that thing!" Mito shook the drowsiness from her mind and she finally noticed who was in front of her. It was Naruto! Her eyes quickly widened and jumped off the ground and tackled him in a hug.

"Naruto-kun!" exclaimed the happy girl. Naruto laughed a bit and hugged her back.

"Hey there, Shrimp, how are you holding up? You hurt anywhere?" Naruto asked, concern evident in his voice. Naruto then pushed her away far enough so he could examine her for any wounds.

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun." Mito said as she blushed at his scrutiny.

"Good." He said in relief. Mito then noticed the woman that was standing behind Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, who is that?" Mito asked as she pointed towards the mysterious woman.

"That's my mother, Mito-chan." Naruto said with a smile. Mito's eyes widened before she grew nervous. 'What if she doesn't like me?' Mito thought, old insecurities coming to the surface of her mind. The woman walked towards the two and smiled gently at the girl.

"Hello, Mito-chan, it's nice to meet you. My name is Rei. My son has told me much about you in his letter." Rei said kindly. "From what he's said, you seem like a nice girl. I look forward to getting to know you." Rei's normally cold personality was replaced by the kind and gentle woman who only family saw. Mito was family, and a dear friend of her son, why wouldn't she be nice to her? Mito visibly calmed down and smiled at the older woman, happy that she had her approval.

"I look forward to knowing you as well, Rei-san." Mito said with a large smile. The conversation seemed to have woken up the other residents of the camp. Kakashi was the first to rise, showing no signs of fatigue at all. Sasuke and Sakura quickly got out of their tents, but they both looked exhausted. The two then went to wake up Tazuna, who had a liquor bottle in his hand. Kakashi noticed the two extra redheads that he was sure weren't there before he had gone to sleep. He also noticed that one of them was Mito's friend Naruto. The other was a complete mystery to the one-eyed jonin.

"Are you two the backup Hokage-sama sent?" Kakashi asked. Naruto simply smiled.

"Nope, we're just two traveling civilians who thought to help some travelers who need it." Naruto said. Kakashi was silent for a moment before replying.

"I see. Well, we're almost to the area where we need to go by boat. About another hour or so." Kakashi said as he motions for his genin to clean up the camp and head out. The group of seven quickly got to the shore of Hi no Kuni and noticed that there was a man with a motor boat. When he saw Tazuna, the man gained a relieved look on his face.

"Tazzuna-san! Thank God, you're alright!" The guide said.

"It's good to see you, Hotaru-san(5). Is it safe to cross?" Tazuna asked his friend.

"Yes, the next patrol won't be here for another hour. That's plenty of time." The group silently got on the boat and Hotaru started the motor. As they traveled across the water, the ninja gazed at the unfinished bridge in awe. Even if it wasn't completed, the bridge was massive. The bridge looked to be half done. 'This is going to take a month?' Naruto thought incredulously. 'The old drunk must be quite the architect to claim to finish this bridge in such a short amount of time.' Naruto finished.

Soon the group reached the shore, and Hotaru sped off on his boat. The group walked down a path, Tazuna giving directions towards his home. Naruto was getting more tense with each passing moment. Mito had explained the fight that she was in, and while he was proud of her quick thinking, he was sure that the next assassin would be tougher. 'This guy must be waiting for us to drop out guard since we're almost at Tazuna's house. And the mist is getting thicker...there's also a faint amount of chakra in the air, I almost missed it.' Naruto thought. 'If it's who I think it is, I better get ready. We're in his turf.' Naruto then motion for Mito to be on guard. He didn't bother notifying his mother, he was sure she already knew. She was a better sensor than him after all. Kakashi also looked tenser than usual.

The ninja all jumped a bit when Mito threw a kunai towards a bush. A 'thunk' was heard, and when Mito went to investigate they all saw a white rabbit with a kunai lodged into its skull. Mito grimaced as she dislodged the kunai from the dead rabbit. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he examined the carcass closer. 'A white rabbit in spring...I call bullshit.' Naruto thought. His ears then caught the sound of a large object coming towards them at a high-speed.

"GET DOWN!" Naruto yelled as he gathered a large amount of chakra around his hands. He then turned and stopped the object—a broadsword. The momentum behind the sword caused him to skid back a few feet, he was also experiencing a dull ache in his arms. Naruto wasn't given any time to rest, however, as he raised his foot to block a kick from his left, which he used to push himself away from the assailant. He let the chakra in his hands dissipate as he looked at the man in front of him.

"Zabuza Momochi, A-rank missing nin of Kirigakure no Sato." Naruto said, recalling the information the bingo book had on him. "So you were hired by Gato?"

"Heh, well aren't you a smart little brat." Zabuza said mockingly. "I couldn't have asked for an easier job. Getting paid to kill a bunch of kids and an old drunk, the only challenge here looks to be Kakashi." Zabuza finished. Kakashi made a move to engage Zabuza, but was stopped by Naruto who gestured for him to stay back. Kakashi didn't appreciate the gesture, but relented. It would be a good way to learn what the so called "backup" could do. He would step in if necessary.

"I think you'll find a decent challenge in me, Zabuza." Naruto said. Zabuza snorted, but decided to get the fight over with.

"You're funeral, kid." Zabuza then made a handsign. "Kirigakure no Jutsu." Mist started to form around the clearing, making it only possible to see a foot in front of yourself. Naruto quickly pulled out his dagger and blocked a slash from his right, reinforcing his arm with chakra. He pushed the giant sword away and lashed out with a kick, not really expecting to make contact, and heard his opponent jump away. 'It seems like Zabuza doesn't recognize me.' Naruto thought with a small grin. Naruto then closed his eyes and began to focus on the sounds around him. He heard very faint footsteps coming in from behind him and silently created a lightning clone. He sent the clone towards where he heard the footsteps and heard the sound of electricity, followed by falling water. 'Water clone...' Naruto thought before he ducked Zabuza's sword and lashed out with his dagger, slashing him across the chest. Once more, Naruto heard the sound of falling water and jumped onto the lake. By that time the mist was starting to thin out. 'Why does it feel harder to channel chakra through the water...oh crap...' Naruto thought as Zabuza burst through the water.

"Water prison!" Zabuza exlcaimed as he trapped Naruto in a sphere of water. The mist had cleared completely and the rest of the group could see Naruto trapped in the jutsu. By the looks of things, Rei had set up a barrier seal around herself and Tazuna. 'Smart thinking, Kaa-san.' Naruto thought.

"Naruto!" Mito yelled, worried for her sensei. The other genin looked shocked, but not as much as Mito. Kakashi looked ready to step in, but Rei held out her hand.

"Don't worry, water is the worst element to fight Naruto with." Rei said, not looking worried in the least. "Just give him a minute." Zabuza looked at his prisoner and laughed mockingly, his arm keeping the jutsu going.

"Not so much of a challenge now, are you?" Zabuza gloated. Naruto just looked at him for a second before he started to channel his chakra around his body. Zabuza noticed it too, but didn't think too much about it. "It's useless your chakra can't get me out here." Naruto then started to focus his chakra.

"That's where you're wrong, Zabuza." Naruto said, his voice muffled by the water. "Tell me what is water?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Zabuza asked angrily. The next thing he knew, he was being severely electrocuted. It was getting worse by the second, and he was forced to release the jutsu. Naruto landed on the water and jumped back a few feet.

"Water is a conductor for electricity, Zabuza. Something that I happen to be very skilled at controlling." Naruto said as he readied his dagger. Zabuza stumbled on the surface of the lake for a moment before he gained his barings.

"Ugh...I remember you now. You're that Uzumaki brat..." Zabuza said. The others at the shore. The rest of the group, sans Rei, were shocked that Zabuza knew Naruto. "No wonder I couldn't sneak up on you in the mist, I fucking taught you the silent killing." Zabuza said as he grit his teeth in frustration.

"So you remember now. Then you must realize that you can't win this fight. You're silent killing is useless, your water jutsus are no match for my lightning, and you're standing on one huge conductor(7)." Naruto explained with an even tone. Zabuza grit his teeth he weighed his options. 'Dammit! Even if I beat this brat, I still have to deal with Kakashi—another lightning user, and the brat's mother...Dammit! I'm out gunned.' Zabuza thought. He finally decided to cut his losses and make a tactical retreat. He created more mist before shunshining away. When the mist cleared, Zabuza was gone. Naruto sighed, holstered his dagger, and walked back to shore. When returned to the group, he was confronted by an angry looking Mito.

"You IDIOT! I thought you had actually been captured, next time stop playing around!" Mito yelled. Naruto just sighed and apologized. He knew she was just worried about him, but did she have to yell? Naruto then walked towards his mother, who had released the barrier seal surrounding her and the bridge builder.

"Sochi, there was another chakra signature hiding in the trees about fifty meters away. He left right when Zabuza did." Rei informed her son. She had sensed the person as soon as Naruto and Zabuza started fighting, that's why she made the barrier. Kakashi heard her and frowned.

"So Zabuza had an accomplice. He'll surely have more help next time. We'll have to be on our guard. It'll probably take some time for Gato to find someone strong enough to help Zabuza, so I estimate that we have about a week to prepare." Kakashi explained. He then turned towards his genin. "That means more training." Mito looked indifferent, Sakura looked apprehensive at the thought of fighting dangerous ninja, and Sasuke had a...different look in his eyes. 'Hopefully it will be real training this time.' Mito's new sensei would always show up before Kakashi and take her off somewhere. He could tell they were training because Mito would return with a few bruises and cuts. She would also face-plant right into the ground and stay there until Kakashi arrived.

Mito was getting stronger, that much he could tell. They had both fought one of the demon brothers, and Sasuke had found himself having difficulties. He cursed himself for letting the bastard get past him. He was slightly relieved when Kakashi had stopped their client from being killed. It wouldn't look good on his record for his first real mission to be a failure. The assassin had been knocked out and tied to a tree. Sasuke had then looked towards Mito, only to see her dragging the unconscious and heavily damaged form of her opponent. It hurt his pride to see that she had defeated an enemy that he couldn't, but the salt in his wounds was that she wasn't even injured. Not in the slightest! And now that he had seen her sensei in action, his jealousy was getting ready to burst. 'He had been able to make an A-ranked missing nin flee. He was in control of the situation the entire time...and he's teaching that loser...' Sasuke thought in anger. 'I need to get stronger...' He was driven from his thoughts once the group started moving towards Tazuna's house. After another hour of traveling, they had finally reached the house. Knocking on the door, Tazuna was greeted by a woman with black hair and was wearing a pink sweater and blue knee-length skirt. A huge smile grew onto her face as she hugged the old man to death.

"Tou-san! You're safe!" The woman said happily. After the hug, Tazuna turned her attention towards the group of six.

"Tsunami-chan, these are the kind people who decided to help me." Tazuna said as he gestured for them to introduce themselves. Kakashi took this as his cue, and introduced himself first.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake."

"I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Hello, Tsunami-san, I am Rei Uzumaki."

"...Sasuke Uchiha."

"Hello, I'm Mito Uzumaki."

"Hey, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Tsunami then bowed to them all in gratitude.

"Thank you for protecting my father on his way home. I was so worried that I wouldn't see him again." Tsunami said.

"Grandpa!" Yelled a young boy, who ran into the room and hugged his grandfather's legs.

"Hey, Inari, these are the nice ninja that helped me back home." Some greeted the boy, but were ignored.

"So, Tazuna-san. When will you begin working on the bridge?" Asked Kakashi as he read his book.

"I'll start tomorrow."

"Alright, Sasuke and I will be your escort for that day. Tomorrow will Sasuke will switch out with Sakura, and the day after will be Mito. Whoever is not on guard detail will be training. I'll give you some scrolls to work with so you will have a place to start." The genin all nodded in understanding. It was starting to get late, so the ninja retired for the evening. Mito, Rei, and Sakura shared a room while the guys got the other room.

-The Next Day-

The next day, Naruto and Mito left the house to continue training. Rei had also decided to tag along, hoping to offer her own imput. They went deep into the forest so they wouldn't disturb anyone.

"Alright Mito-chan, my Kaa-san and I have been discussing ways to help you improve. One of the ways was by testing your elemental affinity." Naruto explained. Mito then gained a questioning look.

"How do I do that?" At her question, Rei pulled out a small piece of paper.

"This paper is made from a special tree that is almost constantly being fed chakra. If you channel chakra into this you-" she was cut off when Mito snatched the paper and channeled chakra into it. The paper split into two halves and both halved turned soggy.

"What does that mean?!" Mito asked excitedly. Rei sighed as she continued her explaination.

"I'll tell you if you don't interrupt, Mito-chan. If you're a fire element the paper burns, water makes it soggy, wind cuts it in half, earth makes it crumble like dirt, and lightning crumples the paper." Rei explained. "The affinities that you have are wind and water."

"So how do I use my affinities?" Mito asked. This time, Naruto stepped in to explained.

"You don't actually use an affinity. Affinities just indicate which types of jutsu you'll be able to use. Since your affinities are water and wind, you'll have an easier time using jutsu of those elements. I have a lightning affinity and a minor fire affinity, both of which are odd for an Uzumaki. Your affinities are more typical of our clan. My Kaa-san also has a water affinity, so she'll be able to teach you some jutus. In the mean time, you will be working on the usual stuff." Naruto explained as he motioned for Mito to start running around the clearing.

The next two days passed quickly for the Uzumakis. Mito had been working on increasing her chakra control, and was now working on water manipulation. Rei had given Mito the task of trying to pull water out of a nearby lake. Once she could do that, she was to make different shapes with the water. The more complex the shape, the more control it took. On the third day, however, it was time for Mito to guard Tazuna with Kakashi. Naruto decided that he would simply walk around town, since there would be no training.

After eating breakfast and bidding farewell to Mito, Naruto started off into town. As he went deeper and deeper into the town, he could see that Wave desperately need the bridge. The buildings were in various states of disarray, and each looked like they were ready to collapse. There were also entire families living in the street, and it broke his heart that he couldn't do anything at the moment. Naruto eventually found himself in what appeared to be a red light district, although it didn't look much different than the rest of the town. Walking down the road a bit, Naruto heard a large amount of ruckus coming from one of the larger buildings. Naruto also noticed that there were thugs guarding the entrance. This particular building looked to be in better shape than others, so he decided to see what the commotion was.

Walking past the guards, Naruto was greeted by the sight of numerous thugs and scantily clad women. 'A strip joint?' Naruto thought dubiously. 'I realize this part of town looks to be a red light district but...' Naruto then took a closer look at the expressions of each of the women. One could see disgust and shame etched on each of their faces if they looked close enough, Naruto was also shocked that some of them looked around his age!

"Ahh!"

Naruto was driven from his thoughts by a scream, and looked to his left where the scream came from. What he saw made his blood boil. There were a group of thugs surrounding a woman, restraining her limbs, and grabbing at her clothes. Their intentions were very obvious to Naruto. Naruto also noticed that no moved to stop them. Temporarily suppressing his rage, Naruto stalked towards the group. He tapped on thug on the shoulder and got his attention.

"What do you want brat, can't you see we're-" The thug was cut off when Naruto roughly grabbed his collar and threw him across the room. The man crashed into the wall and toppled onto the floor with a loud thud. The noise got the attention of every other mercenary in the room,.

"Hey, who the fuck is the brat?"

"How should I know!?"

"Holy crap! What happened to

"The bastard is ruining our fun! Kill him!" The rest of the thugs roared in agreement and swarmed the redhead. Naruto created a clone to get the women to safety while he dealt with the trash. There were about fifty thugs in the building, not counting the two he had already dealt with. 'Good thing that the room isn't very crowded.' Naruto thought at he created four more shadow clones to help finish the fight quickly. Naruto and his clones each rushed towards a group of thugs.

When the original Naruto was in front of the group, one thug tried to swing his dagger at him. Quickly drawing his own blade, Naruto dodged and struck. The thug blinked for a second, and his brain finally processed the fact that from his forearm down was a stump. Before he could scream, Naruto decked him in the nose with enough force to send bone fragments into his brain. 'One...' Naruto thought. He then heard footsteps coming from the side, and turned to block and overhead sword swipe. Pushing to blade away, Naruto thrust his foot into the mercenary's stomach, sending three feet away. Naruto lowered his leg and sent it backwards, catching another thug in chin. Both thugs were incapacitated by the devastating kicks. 'Three...' Naruto turned towards the remaining seven thugs and raised both his fists in front of him, dagger held firmly in his leading hand. He then smirked at the thugs, goading them with his opposite hand in a "come on" gesture. Two more thugs ran at the redhead, intent on killing him and mounting his head on a wall. One swung at Naruto with his axe, and Naruto ducked the swing. From his ducked position, Naruto sent a barrage of bone breaking punches to his opponent's exposed torso. Finishing his assault, Naruto sent the thug flying with a strong right hook. 'Four...' The next thug tried to cut open his exposed side with his katana, but Naruto stepped back. The thug seemed decent with his sword, but he was no match for a shinobi. Naruto intentionally kept backing up towards a wall, and when his back was against it, he dashed to the right. The thug's sword was then lodged into the wall. He tried to get it free, but his efforts were cut short by Naruto's leg crashing into his knee. The thug screamed as his leg was forced into an unnatural angle. Naruto then followed by slamming the hilt of his dagger into the thug's temple. 'Five...'

The remaining thugs were starting to become frightened of the redhead. However, they were certain that they could take him down if they attacked as a group. They grabbed their weapons and ran at Naruto, who was a fair distance away. Naruto, having had enough of dealing with such filth, gathered chakra to his limbs. Naruto then jabbed at the air twice, and sent a kick. The thugs would have laughed at their opponent if it weren't for the blue projectiles that were launched from Naruto's strikes. The three masses of moving chakra each hit a thug, the concussive force knocking them out cold. 'Eight...' The last two thugs tried to make a break for the exit, but Naruto wasn't going to have that. He gathered more chakra in his arms, and extended the chakra at the fleeing mercenaries. The chakra wrapped around their necks and they were pulled back towards Naruto. Once there Naruto grabbed their heads and slammed them into each other, effectively knocking them out. As the last two men fell into unconsciousness, Naruto looked around the building and saw that his clones had taken care of the other mercenaries.

Relaxing somewhat, Naruto dispelling all of his clones, and went to where his first clone had taken the girls. He walked into the forest behind the building, and was instantly swarmed by many the women. They were all wondering who he was and if he was all right. Naruto eased their fears and introduced himself to them. After doing so, Naruto noticed that the woman he had initially saved had walked up to him.

"Naruto-san, I would like to thank you for saving me—for saving all of us." The woman said as she bowed deeply, the other women followed suit. Naruto just scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"It was no trouble...uh..." Naruto trailed off, not knowing the woman's name.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The woman said. "My name is Umi."

"Nice to meet you. Like I said Umi-san, it was no trouble. I couldn't just let that happen." Naruto said, referring to what had almost happened.

"Still, you have our eternal gratitude." Umi said as she rose from her bow.

"...Umi-san?"

"Yes?"

"...Is this common in Nami no Kuni?" Naruto did not say it directly, but Umi understood what he meant.

"Unfortunately, yes." She then released a sorrowful sigh. "Ever since Gato arrived in our land, he had been slowly bleeding our economy dry. When it got to the point that people couldn't pay their taxes, Gato started taking people as slaves. He would then sell them on the black market, however, he kept some of the women and girls for his...twisted pleasures." Umi said as a few tears escaped her eyes. She had lost many friends to that monster, and she was later forced to work in that bar. She was lucky that Naruto showed up when he did, she did not dare to think about what would happen if he hadn't saved her.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Umi-san. But rest assured that Gato will be dealt with." Naruto comforted the woman. Umi looked up at his words. She had seen a small bit of the fight inside the building, and saw him take care of the thugs with extreme ease. It was obvious that he was a shinobi.

"What do you mean, Naruto-san." Umi asked, a small trace of hope in her voice.

"It's as I say. Gato will be dealt with, one way or another." Naruto promised, a plan starting to form in his mind.

"But Gato has hundreds of bodyguards! I understand that you're strong, but one man can't win against those odds." Umi said worriedly.

"Umi-san, thank you for your concern, but I am not alone. I am part of the shinobi team that escorted Tazuna-san." Naruto said complacently.

"Tazuna-san is back?" Umi exclaimed in shock.

"Yep, now the bridge can be completed sooner." Naruto answered.

"Thank God. Everyone in wave has been worried sick about him. I'm sure the townspeople will be relieved at his return." Umi said.

"Don't worry, Umi-san. Everything will turn out alright. I promise." With that, Naruto bid the Umi and the other women farewell. The group then dispersed, most likely to tell the town about Tazuna's return.

Naruto kept wandering the town for the next few hours, making a mental map of the town's layout and surrounding forest. A ninja could never be too paranoid. It was sundown by the time Naruto returned to the house. As he stepped through the door he let loose a bit of chakra to let Kakashi know that he was there. When he walked into the house he saw that everyone was gathered around a table as dinner was being served.

"Hello, sochi." Rei said from her place at the table. "You're just in time for dinner." Naruto nodded to his mother. He walked to the table and took a seat between his mother and Mito. Mito sent a smile his way when he sat down.

"Hey, Naruto-kun." She said as she ate.

"Hello, Mito-chan." Naruto greeted back. "How was guard duty?"

"Ugh, it was so boring. I would rather be training with you and Rei-obasan." Mito complained with a pout.

"Well, someone has to keep the drunk safe." Naruto said, ignoring Tazuna's indignant rebuttle.

"At least I could work on my affinity training since there is plenty of water to practice with." Mito said. This caught the rest of team seven's attention, more so Kakashi and Sasuke. Kakashi seemed to be the only one who voiced his thoughts.

"Affinity training? Who taught you that?" Kakashi asked, already having an idea of who it was.

"Naruto-kun and Rei-obasan, they've taught me loads of stuff!" Mito said with an excited grin. Kakashi then gained a stern look.

"Like what?" Kakashi asked. Before Mito could answer, Naruto cut her off.

"Sorry, Kakashi-san, but it's a clan matter." Naruto said. Naruto had read up on Konoha's various laws and policies, especially the ones that concerned clans. One such law stated that any training and techniques belonging to a clan were strictly confidential. The only exception was if the training/technique was potentially harmful to the village as a whole. Kakashi stared at Naruto for a second, but eventually relented. There was nothing he could do.

"...Fine." Was Kakashi's reply.

At the other end of the table, Sasuke was clenching his fists. 'Mito is training in her affinity?! All I've been told to do are stupid chakra exercises. When is Kakashi going to start actually training me?!' Sasuke raged mentally. He may know jutsu, but had not actually trained his affinity beyond what was required to make the jutsu work. 'What's worse is that Mito's affinity is water...that means any fire jutsu I use will be useless against her!' Sasuke thought as he glared at the Uzumakis.

"How can you all be so calm." A voice said as everyone looked towards Tsunami's son, Inari. "How can you be so cheerful when you are all going to DIE!" Yelled Inari. "GATO IS JUST GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOU. WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER?!" Mito seemed to take great offense to that statement.

"Stupid brat! We were hired to protect your grandfather. Stop being so ungrateful!" Mito said heatedly.

"THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO!" Inari continued yelling. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW STRONG GATO IS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF THE PAIN WE WENT THROUGH!" If she were able to, Mito would have decked him across the face, but she decided to end the conversation before she did something she regretted.

"I know more about pain than you think, you brat. Don't assume things about people who you don't know." Mito said with a calmness that hid her anger. Mito then got up from the table and out the front door. Naruto watched her go with a sad look, he knew that Inari's comment brought up some bad memories for her. He then looked at Inari who was holding back his tears.

"Inari," Naruto said as the child looked at him. "are you happy with the way Nami no Kuni is?"

"Of course not!" Inari snapped.

"Then why are you trying to get drive away the only hope your country has. We were given a job and we plan on completing it." Naruto said simply. "Your grandfather is trying to free Nami no Kuni. Saying there is no hope is an insult to not only his dreams, but everyone in Wave's." At this point, Inari couldn't fight back his tears and he ran upstairs. Tsunami watched her son go with a sad look.

"I apologize for Inari. He hasn't always been like this." She said sadly. Sakura then decided to voice a question.

"If you don't mind my asking...what happened?"

"No, no...it's fine." Tsunami said as she composed herself. "It all started when Inari met a man named Kaiza, who saved him from drowning. My first husband had died shortly after Inari was born, and Kaiza soon filled the role of Inari's father. Kaiza and I fell in love about a year later and got married. We were a happy family, but that all ended when Gato arrived. Kaiza tried to rebel against Gato, but he was captured and publicly killed...Inari was in the front of the crowd." Tsunami said, a few tears escaping her eyes. The general mood in the room seemed to take a nose-dive after the story.

"I'm sorry for your loss ." Naruto commented solemnly.

"Thank you. While I have mostly moved on Inari, still clings to the pain of losing his father figure."

"Don't worry, Tsunami-san. Gato won't be a problem for much longer." Naruto said as he left the table to see if Mito was alright.

-With Mito-

Mito was currently sitting in a tall tree branch, attempting to control her anger. Inari's words had brought up some repressed anger from her childhood, and she had barely stopped herself from physically assaulting the child. 'Stupid brat...who the hell does he think he is!' Mito ranted. 'He isn't the only one who's had it rough...' She thought as she leaned against the tree as buried memories resurfaced. Memories of being treated like she didn't exist, and if they did acknowledge her it was only with disdain. '...Stupid civilians.' Mito finished her inner monologue with a sad frown.

After a few minutes of listening to the ambient sounds of the forest, Mito heard someone coming in her direction. 'Either they don't know I'm here, or they are overconfident.' Mito thought as she reached into her pouch and grabbed a kunai. She waited for the person to appear, but she lowered her guard when she saw Naruto land on the branch right next to her's. He sat down and just looked through the trees, observing the stars as they lit up the sky.

"It's okay to be angry," Naruto said abruptly. "It wasn't right for him to say what he did." The subject of his words were obvious to Mito. She sighed before looking at the sky as well.

"I'm not angry at the brat..." Mito explained. "...He just brought up some bad memories." Naruto nodded, not turning away from his star-gazing.

"Want to talk about it?" Mito was silent for a time before she spoke.

"When I was younger, I wasn't the most popular person to the people of Konoha. I was thrown out of the orphanage when I was five, and it took almost two weeks for the Old Man to be informed." Mito said sadly. Naruto seemed outraged at the statement.

"How could they not figure out you were missing?!"

"...The Old Man had said his forces had been spread thin from the Kyuubi's attack. He didn't have any soldiers to spare." Mito said.

"So, even five years after the Kyuubi's attack, the village was still recovering?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "I find that hard to believe."

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, it does seem like the Old Man was just making excuses." Mito reasoned. Naruto looked at her and saw the same betrayed look she wore when she was told about her family. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh before he spoke.

"Mito-chan...I'm not defending what the Old Man said—not by a long shot, but do you really think he had any better explanations? I'm sure he felt horrible, as he should have." Mito's expression didn't change.

"As much as it would have hurt, the truth would've been better. If there is one thing that I hate, it's being lied to." Mito finished softly.

"You and me both, Mito-chan." Naruto agreed wholeheartedly. "And you don't have to worry, I will never lie to you. We're family, after all." Naruto said as he smiled at Mito, who gave her own thankful smile.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Mito said as a small tear fell from her eye. "I'm glad that I could talk to someone about this." Naruto just gave her a grin.

"No problem. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm your guy!" Naruto exclaimed as he stood up. "So, you wanna head back to the house?" He asked.

"No, I think I'm going to train for a bit." Mito said.

"Alright, don't stay out too long." Naruto said as he dashed toward the house. Mito stood up from her seat and jumped down to the clearing. She then created six clones.

"Alright, I want three of you to go to the lake and practice water manipulation, but be on guard for anything suspicious." Mito then addressed the remaining clones. "I want you three to work on the jutsu that Rei-obasan gave us to practice."

As the clones left to do their tasks, Mito began her physical training. About a week before they had left Konoha, Naruto had made seals that would generate a field of resistance around her body. It was as if she were walking through water. Occasionally, Naruto would have to increase the resistance, but her fuinjutsu training had progressed enough for her to adjust them herself. The higher the seal was set, the more resistance she would feel. 'Naruto said using these seals were a much better alternative to gravity seals since they wouldn't affect my body.' Naruto created these seals because he had learned that gravity seals affected the spine. The increased gravity would compress the spine, making one gradually shorter. He was sure that the gravity seal could have other unknown effects, but didn't want to risk it.

"The gravity seals may be faster, but I don't want to risk you getting injured because it's faster." He had said. Of course, he then made a comment on how short she was. That earned him a punch from her. 'As sweet as he can be sometimes, he sure is an ass.' Mito thought with snort. Naruto had spent a long time inventing the seal for her, and she was grateful, but did he have to smart-ass all the time?

Mito spent the next few hours training her body, and when a clone dispelled she created new ones. She made the clones dispel when they finished an exercise. Afterwards, she would create more clones, that way they would be more equipped for harder tasks. Her first three clones had managed to finish the first water manipulation exercise. The other clones were able to utilize one of the water jutsu, they hadn't mastered it, but it was battle-ready. By the time Mito had finished her physical exercises, she was dead tired. As she leaned against the base of a tree, she planned to rest her eyes before heading back to the house. However, she quickly fell asleep.

-The Next Morning-

A figure was currently walking through a clearing in the forest, occasionally crouching to pick some herbs. As the person walked deeper into the forest they saw a teenaged girl sleeping against a tree. The person walked towards girl, and knelt beside her. The person seemed to contemplative what to do, before gently shaking her awake.

"Excuse me, Miss, but you'll catch a cold if you sleep out here." The person's voice was kind, and decidingly feminine. Mito's eyes snapped open before looking at the person who woke her. Mito then straightened herself as she addressed the person in front of her. The person in front of her was definitely female based on her looks. She had dark brown hair that was the same length as her own, equally brown eyes, and an angular face. Around her neck was a black, cloth, choker. The girl was wearing a simple pink kimono, and was carrying a basket full of what looked like herbs.

"Um, thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine." Mito said politely. "My name is Mito, by the way." The girl smiled as she held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Mito-san. My name is Haku."


And Haku makes an appearance! Yes, I made Haku female...I don't really have a reason, I've just read more stories where Haku was female. I guess the idea just stuck. Hope the chapter wasn't too boring. And if it was, think of this chapter as the calm before the storm :) By the way, there may be some inconsistencies in this story. Like I may say something in one chapter about a character, but say something contradictory in another. There won't be many, but if there are don't be afraid to point them out. All forms of constructive criticism are welcome, encouraged even. Now, I have some important questions. Do you think the story is going to slow or too fast? Do you think I should put more action? Do you want shorter chapters and more updates, or longer chapters and less frequent updates? Tell me what you would like to see from my writing and I will try to adjust to your suggestions. Keep in mind that I am new to this, and if it conflicts with my plans for this story I won't do it. Also, remember that school is a variable for my writing. I just want to get some feedback, you can answer in a review or PM, either is fine. Thanks for reading :)

1)Mito usually addresses Naruto as her sensei in public, but will call him Naruto-kun in private or when she is happy, excited, relieved, etc.

2)Kakashi suspects that Naruto is training Mito, but isn't completely sure.

3)Mito caught him by surprise. Tactics are better than brute strength after all.

4)Rei was around the same age as Kushina was when she was sent to Konoha. Kushina was the daughter of the clan head (in my story at least).

5)Not sure if the boat driver was ever named :/

Date Uploaded: 9/30/2013

Last Edit: n/a