Naruto crouched behind a small bush while waiting for the accursed cat to come his way. In a rare moment of foresight the blonde had also dispersed 3 Kage Bunshin behind the other 3 bushes large enough to cover his orange glory, just in case Tora would again foil his ambush. His stomach was grumbling loud enough to make that a distinct possibility, Sasuke mused while standing on a nearby tree. He could hear it from more than 5m away, dammit! No way he would spend more time than absolutely necessary to run after that accursed feline demon, also hungry teammates were sloppy teammates, and sloppy teammates led to disaster, as his uncle had taught him.
No, he would end this quickly, and then see to it that Naruto got something into that noisegenerator.
So when Tora came running around the edge of a side-street, followed by Sakura, he simply jumped down to the street and calmly looked at the Cat...
Naruto was ready to jump out of his hiding place when Sasuke just landed gracefully in front of the racing Tora. Damn, he made everything look easy, that...
Narutos train of thought was cut short however, when Tora simply walked towards Sasuke and he took her up. Sakuras eyes were wide, and Narutos as well though he himself couldn't see them. How the hell had he done that?
The answer came when Sasuke, a small smirk on his lips, turned around to display deep red eyes with something black spinning in them. That had to be the famed Sharingan then! Damn, as if the "Uchiha prodigy" hadn't been enviable enough before...
"Now lets deliver that little fleabag while the Genjutsu lasts, and get something to eat, hn?" The last Uchiha said to no-one in particular, sounding only very slightly arrogant. "I think I'll invite you to Ichirakus Naruto, after all if your stomach gets any louder we might see some Inuzuka running towards us intend to tame the unknown but clearly wild beast..." And then Sasuke actually winked at him! Kakashi had said that Sasuke might be different, but up to now he had seemed pretty much the same. While they walked towards the Old ladies House to deliver the Evil Cat Naruto couldn't help but wonder. Was this new Sasuke actually a more friendly, plain nice, version, or was it just his way of trying to get to know them better? Or even a prank? Who knew. And as far as Naruto was concerned, who cared? He had been invited to Ichirakus, that was all that counted for the moment...
Sakura therewhile had recovered enough from the newest display of Sasukes indisputable awesomeness to catch up to the fact that her crush had invited Naruto and her to eat something! While Ichiraku wasn't her idea of a romantic dinner, especially with Naruto in tow, it was a start...
And so a rather pleased Sasuke and 2 very pleased team members lost in their own thoughts delivered the cat and hence finished their first mission as new Team 7.
A few hours, and more ramen than Sasuke had ever seen his Naruto eat, later the 3 had parted ways for the evening. Had he not been the sole clan heir in this world, and the thought still bugged him to no end if he was honest, the cost for that little friendliness would have depleted his weekly stipend completely.
As it was he could afford it, though next time he would be more careful. At least Sakura, while far more annoying due to her "Sasuke-kun here and Sasuke-kun there", had only eaten one bowl. Some things never changed, he mused while walking towards training ground 4. Even seeing that he obviously had almost as many, though younger, fangirls here as Itachi had had "at home" Sakura was still to ... clingy for his taste. In his world she had clung to him in hopes of getting closer to Itachi, but otherwise all was pretty similar. The attention in general was nice, at least until he thought about the why to closely, but he would have to do something about Sakura soon. The way she acted now the team would suffer a significant blow to its efficiency once under stress, with her clinging to him all the time and being brutishly rude to Naruto while the blonde only tried to be friendly Yes, he was obnoxious and overtly eager. So what? Naruto was Naruto after all. If one could not accept his team, he still couldn't bring it over himself to call them friends yet, the way they were that hinted at some deep emotional problems...
He was cut out of his musings (he was thinking entirely too much since he had gotten "dumped" here he decided, and used to little of his mind to being aware of his surroundings) by seeing a green-clad boy with bushy eyebrows and a haircut that positively screamed "please mock me!" doing one-fingered pushups at the training ground he had intended to use for the next hour. The boy was wearing green spandex, like Gai usually did, and seemed to be around Sasukes own age. His trained eyes (without using his Sharingan for now) quickly realized that the boy was extremely fit and toned. Hm, maybe an interesting sparring partner had just appeared. And one he had never seen in his world to boot! Sasukes mouth flowed into a thin, pleased smile.
"Ahem". He made his presence known by clearing his throat rather loudly.
The green clad boy jumped up (effortless, and very fast, Sasuke was impressed) and looked at him. "Sasuke Uchiha. I am pleased to meet you! Have you come to train your flames of youth in this place as well?"
Train his flames of youth? That guy even sounded like Gai, that confirmed it. In this world the "Green Beast" had a pupil. While never someone to look at with anything but mirth, Gai was lauded to be The Best regarding Taijutsu ina ll of Konoha. That promised to be an interesting spar indeed... Now he only had to circumvent proving that he didn't know the boys name. Shouldn't be too hard...
"You could say that, yes. However my teammates were not able to join me, so I intended to do some Jutsu training instead. However since you seem to be here all on your own as well, how about a little spar?" First some kind of sadness showed in the boys face, but quickly vanished as Sasuke mentioned sparring. The "Minibeasts" eyes lid up at that. " Yes, Neji and Ten Ten are busy on their own this evening, running a little errand for Gai-sensei. Of course, I would be honored to spar with the Uchiha prodigy!" His smile was almost blinding as he loudly exclaimed his willingness to train. He bowed, then he moved to take a rather straight Taijutsu stance, his left hand extended towards Sasuke, his right behind his back, roughly 5m from Sasuke and said: "May our bout be full of fire and serve to improve our prowess!" Sasuke simply nodded his head and went to assume a relaxed, wide-legged stance, his hands at his sides, held at the ready but betraying nothing. He decided to spar without the Sharingan for now, if he needed it he could still activate it later, and he really wanted to see how his training would fare against what Gais pupil had to offer.
Which he promptly did when his sparring partner moved to attack without ado. The boy was faster than any opponent outside Itachi or Kakashi Sasuke had ever sparred against and he barely managed to evade his first kick and brush his first 2 punches aside. His second kick however connected with his right side, and Sasuke went flying sideways. Damn, if the boy kicked that hard in sparring he deserved his best as well, so while rolling to his feet, utilizing the green "Bowlerheads" own kick to put more distance between them, Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Immediately he was aware of multiple ways to counter his, already moving, opponents next move, which would consist of 2 fast kicks towards his center of mass followed by 2 quick double punches. Sasuke slid under the kicks and his left hand gripped his opponents ankle, pulling him off balance, while his right leg came up in a short but vicious kick to the boys other thigh. This should have dropped him, but he only somersaulted away from Sasuke. Fast, technically well versed and able to take such a hit without flinching? Sasukes smile widened. This was going to be fun. His opponent nodded respectfully and smiled as well. And the spar continued.
Sasuke was (a little) more refined technically and able to largely dominate the spar due to his Sharingan, but his partner was faster, a good deal stronger and had more stamina. Not to mention he could take hits like a brick wall. After almost 5 minutes without taking another hit he realized that, even with his Sharingan, using Taijutsu alone he could not win unless he would go for a disabling attack, which would mean risking to significantly injur him. And following everything he had learned, that was absolutely off limits in a spar. So he instead opted for one of the 2 Sharingan-driven Genjutsu he knew. While he had never had his elder brothers talents in that regard, his opponent was young and unless he was sorely mistaken obviously a Taijutsu-focused Ninja and hence unlikely to realize what Sasuke was doing quickly enough to counter it. His Tomoe started spinning faster as he poured chakra into his eyes and activated the rather comically named (but Uncle Obito never had been the most somber or pompous member of the family, so his naming habits weren't that big of a surprise) but nonetheless potent supportive "Air of Honey" Jutsu. Suddenly his opponent felt as if moving through honey. His formerly fast, precise movements became sluggish and slow. Which Sasuke quickly exploited by launching 2 kicks to his stomach, followed up by a 5-punch combination around the boys solar plexus. He ended his Genjutsu at the exact moment the green clad boy started dropping to his knees, wheezing for air.
Sasuke smirked with satisfaction. Then his lips widened into a true smile. "You are a very competent opponent." he stated, helping the beaten Ninja to catch his breath. "This spar was a challenge, one I would very much like to repeat. Hadn't I surprised you with my Genjutsu you would probably have won in the end." A little praise was never wrong, and his own ego more than strong enough to live through giving praise to a beaten opponent, and the eyes of his sparring partner lit up. "Thank you, Sasuke. I enjoyed the bout as well and will gladly spar you again!" He seemed to want to say more, but in that exact moment a loud, booming voice shouted "Lee-kun! That was a splendid display of youthly fire! You as well Sasuke-kun! I enjoyed watching you two fan your flames to new heights!" Sasuke turned his head to see Gai standing atop a treebranch nearby. So, the boys name was Lee? He would remember that.
"However", Gai continued, "You will have to stop training now, Sasuke-kun. Your sensei, my eternal rival Kakashi, is looking for you. Go meet him at the Hokages Tower!".
Sasuke could think of only one reason for a summon this late, Team 7 had a new mission. So he stretched a bit, his ribs were still a bit sore after the hit he had taken, and made his way to the Tower.
Once Team 7 had entered the Hokages office, they immediately were assaulted by an immense aroma of alcohol. It obviously originated from the balding, bearded old man standing in front of the Hokages desk.
Said Hokage started speaking almost as soon as the door had closed behind them. "This is Tazuna, a bridge builder from Wave Country. Your next mission is to escort him to his home, as he fears that bandits might target him due to the fact that he is rather famous in his country." He withdrew a small folder from a larger stack of folders on his desk and gave it to Kakashi. "This is the necessary information. You will start tomorrow at Sunrise. Dont. Be. Late." The last three words Sarutobi formed silently, but Kakashi got it nonetheless.
Tazuna therewhile looked over Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura. "Kids? You're sending KIDS to protect me? I didn't pay for a freaking Kindergarten!" His breath was so suffused with alcohol that Sasuke was almost waiting to see fire coming out of his mouth. Almost. The Hokage would have none of this however, and replied with a stern voice. "These 3 are Genin of Konoha. They are more than able to deal with a few bandits. Besides you DO have Kakahsi, one of our absolute best, as backup. I will not tolerate you insulting my Ninja. If you want more and stronger protection you should maybe pay more..."
At that Tazuna lowered his head. "Yeah, yeah, OK. I get it."
"Good" Kakashi now spoke for the first time since arriving in the office. "We will meet at the main Gate at sunrise tomorrow morning. Be sure to be …. ready." Sasuke was pretty sure he had meant "sober". Now Kakashi turned to his team. "Pack your gear. I expect that we will be traveling about a week to Wave and back. Be sure to get enough supplies. And then rest, this will not be as easy as catching cats..." The Copynin smirked at Sasuke at that. Sasuke smirked back.
He was eager for a real mission, even if it was guarding an old drunkard.
He would be ready.
AN: There you go. A little bit of info regarding Sasukes capabilities, a new difference between the 2 worlds revealed, and all set for the Wave Mission.
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