Firstly, I would like to thank all of my reviews so far. Next, if anyone is interested, the votes on the pairing of the story are:
NaruSaku - 14
ItaSaku -2
SakuCentric - 1
No relationships - 1
Enjoy this chapter and remember to review!
Shadow Quil-
Chapter Five
A Dangerous Mission! Journey to the Land of Waves!
The sun shone brightly in the village hidden in the leaves, also known as Konohagakure.
"This is Sasuke, arrived at point B." A deep voice was heard though an intercom.
"This is Sakura and this task is pointless, but I'm at point C." The female voice replied after him.
"This is Naruto. Hi Sakura-chan! I'm at point A!" A hyperactive voice returned. He knew that, if he could actually see Sakura, she would be rolling her eyes at his behaviour.
"You're slow, Naruto." The final voice scolded. "Okay then, team seven, we're ready. Huh? The target has moved! After it!" Kakashi called as a shadowy figure, a rather small one, with glowing eyes ran out of hiding and deeper into the trees for safety against the ruthless ninjas.
Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto peeked out from behind their trees, which were points A, B and C, as they watched the small shadowed being flea from their range. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Naruto adopted a serious face and Sakura –when she looked at the determination to complete the mission in their eyes- scoffed and looked away.
"Okay, he's there." Naruto stated obviously though the small microphone he had to communicate with his team. He and the others moved into a closer hiding spot to their target, hoping to get the mission over with without any casualties.
[--
Kakashi, who wasn't with the three but a close distance from them, moved his microphone closer to his mouth.
"What's the distance to the target?" He asked the three Genin.
"Five metres." Naruto replied. "I'm ready to go. Just give me the signal."
"I'm ready too." Sasuke confirmed.
"This is pointless." Sakura sighed to herself. "Pff, I'm ready."
"Okay…" Kakashi began. "GO!" He yelled.
The two boys on the team leapt from their hiding spots to jump the shadowed creature before it could get away. Naruto was the first to get to it as he grabbed the target roughly around its middle, causing the creature to mew pitifully. Yes…mew.
"I got him! I got him!" He yelled in triumph as he held onto the…kitten. "I got you!" The blonde taunted. It began to hiss and scratch his body, mostly his face, without remorse.
"Can you verify a red ribbon on his right ear?" Kakashi questioned.
"Affirmative. We've got a positive ID." Sasuke answered.
"So it's our target, 'Tora'?" Kakashi asked though the intercom device.
"It's the target for sure." Sasuke replied, ignoring Naruto as the cat began to stamp on his head.
[--
"Okay." Kakashi said. "Operation 'Capture Tora, the missing pet' has been completed. Well done team." He congratulated calmly.
"ISN'T THERE A MORE EXCITING MISSION WE CAN WORK ON?! I REALLY HATE CATS!" Naruto bellowed thought the device, causing Kakashi to fall back with the volume of his voice.
[--
"Geez Naruto, you're such a baby." Sakura sighed as she watched Naruto fall into a fighting stance, the cat copying his moves.
"That cat is evil, Sakura-chan." Naruto replied, glaring at the 'evil' cat heatedly.
"No, you just have to know how to handle pets, baka." Sasuke told him, crouching down.
"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Naruto dared. Sakura walked up behind Sasuke, who held his hand out to Tora. When Tora's eyes lit up in joy and he began to walk in the direction of the cold ninjas, Sasuke smirked. However, the small creature broke into a sprint and ran right passed the Uchiha, jumping into Sakura's arms.
"Eh?!" She called in surprise. "G-Get off!" Sakura yelled, hating all contact with living creatures, cats included.
"The cat likes you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto stated with a grin as he watched the brown furred cat purr and rub his fluffy, fuzzy cheek against Sakura's own paler one. Sakura, still hating this contact, growled.
"Hn. Who knew you'd attract animals so well, Sakura." Sasuke teased with a mocking smirk. Sakura glared in response and tore the cat away from her face, dropping it on the ground. That didn't work, since the cat leapt right back up and purred again.
"Why me?!" Sakura groaned.
"Well, the cat is male, Sakura-chan. Maybe he likes you." Naruto stated with a shrug. Sasuke hit him over the head for being such a baka, since Sakura was currently busy trying to get away from the cat.
[--
"Oh, my cute Tora-chan!" A podgy woman cooed as she squeezed the life out of the small cat with a red ribbon on its ear. "Mommy was so, so, so worried about her naughty little fuzzy-kins! Yes!" This woman was the wife of Fire countries feudal Lord. Her name was Madam Shijimi.
"Ahahaha! Stupid cat. That kitty deserves to be squashed." Naruto cackled as he watched the cat fight for breathing space while the woman crushed him again.
"No wonder he ran away." Sasuke stated simply, sweat dropping at the scene in front of him.
"I hope that overly-cuddly thing suffocates." Sakura declared angrily, pouting cutely, although no one told her it was cute out of fear for their lives. Yes, Sakura was still sore over the whole 'loudly purr and cuddle' thing. Actually, the cat hadn't left her arms all the way to the mission assignment room at the bottom of the Hokage tower.
"Now then…" Sarutobi, the third Hokage, began. "Kakashi's team seven's next mission is…hmm? Ah! We have several available tasks that need completing. Babysitting Yojyu-sama's three-year-old boy. Helping his wife do her grocery shopping at the neighbouring town. Helping dig potatoes in the-"
"NO!" Naruto bellowed, placing his hands in a large 'X' in front of him and making a buzzing sound. "No thanks to all of those! I want to do a more exciting mission! A really cool and exciting mission! Something challenging, not just this little baby stuff! Choose something else! Come on, old man!" He almost begged.
'There is some truth in that. I don't want to get stuck doing these boring missions either.' Sasuke thought, agreeing with Naruto.
'What a troublesome guy.' Sakura said in her mind, looking at the bellowing blonde.
'OH MY KAMI-SAMA! You just sounded like Shikamaru!' Inner Sakura gaped.
'I knew he was going to do this soon.' Kakashi thought with a sigh.
"Baka!" Iruka scolded as he stood up from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him. "You're still a novice ninja! A Genin! A beginner with no experience for Kami-sama's sake! Everyone needs to start with the easy missions to gain experience! How dare you demand something else?!"
"Are you serious!? Babysitting is not a mission, it's a chore! None of us want to stick to this crap!" Naruto began in return. "We've only been doing dumb missions lately!" He whined pathetically. Kakashi, getting fed up with the complaining, hit him over the head and caused the blonde to fall to the floor.
"Will you put a lid on it?" He asked annoyed.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" He cried, jumping into a sitting position and rubbing the back of his head in pain.
"Naruto!" The Hokage called. "It seems as if you do not understand the tasks you have been given." These words caught Naruto's attention as he looked up to the Hokage. "Listen. Many different kinds of requests come into our village everyday, from babysitting to assassinations. These requests are carefully sorted." He gestured towards an assortment of scrolls with different letters on them. "They are analyzed, and then ranked 'A', 'B', 'C', or 'D', depending on their difficulty. Are you with me so far?"
"Yeah, Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered. The Hokage then looked towards the other two Genin.
"And you two?" He questioned.
"Hn." Sasuke answered, looking away with an upturned nose.
"I am." Sakura stated respectfully, with a downward tilt of her head as if she were bowing. This act of respect astounded everyone, since all knew her to be the sarcastic, disrespectful ninja she usually is.
"Very well then, I shall continue. We ninja are also ranked by our abilities and power. Hokage is at the top, then Jounin like Kakashi, followed by Chunin such as Iruka and Genin, like you, at the bottom. At the highest level, we select missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience and, if the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village and our work. Since you are inexperienced Genin, just starting down the shinobi path, you are given 'D' ranked assignments, of course. Hm?" He then noticed that Naruto wasn't even facing him and instead was still sitting on the floor, but with his back to the Hokage.
"So I had this new flavour of ramen yesterday and I'm thinking of going with miso ramen today-" Naruto yammered at Sakura, who just nodded lazily and inputted with the occasional 'uh-huh' and 'alright then'.
"Silence!" Sarutobi yelled to get Naruto to pay attention. The team looked at him, apart from Naruto, and Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Oh, sorry." He apologised, since he was also paying more attention to Naruto's ramen story than the third Hokage. Naruto turned on his butt, not getting off of the floor, and frowned at the Sandaime.
"Gah! You always lecture me like you're my Grandfather or something, but I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time!" Naruto assured rebelliously. "I'm a ninja now and I want a ninja mission!" He finished, turning again and pouting wit his back to the Hokage.
"Hmm, I'm going to hear about this later." Kakashi sighed, rubbing the back of his silver-covered head while he pictured the near future. Iruka gaped at Naruto's display for a moment before smiling at the predicable complaining.
"Hmhmhmhmhmhm." The Hokage chuckled, lifting his pipe into his mouth. "Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat. He's a former brat and he wants a mission. So be it." He claimed.
Naruto's head perked up and his eyes widened in surprise. Sasuke also looked at the Hokage as if he had gone mad for giving into Naruto as easily as he was while Sakura rolled her eyes and smirked down at the stunned blonde sitting by her feet. Kakashi, for his part, looked mildly surprised but mostly curious about the choice the Hokage meant.
"You're giving us a real mission?" Naruto asked with eyes wide and hopeful as he did so.
"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give the four of you a C-ranked mission instead. You'll be bodyguards on a journey." He informed them with a smile.
"Really?" Sakura asked uneasily.
"Yes!" Naruto cheered. "Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess or some big league councillor? Maybe Sakura-chan is really an emperor's daughter and she was just watching us to see if we qualify for this mission! I always knew you were too pretty to be a ninja, Sakura-hime! Dattebayo!"
"Baka! I'm a fighter, not a princess!" The girl scolded.
"Right, right! You just don't want to blow your cover!" He nodded as if he were in complete understanding. "Now it's clear why she would spend time with you, teme." He whispered to Sasuke.
"She's not a princess, baka." Sasuke stated with a frown. "…Are you?" He added, not too sure himself.
"I AM NOT A PRINCESS!" Sakura screamed at them, causing the two boys to go flying across the room and into the wall. When they stood back in their original places, the Hokage continued.
"Don't be stupid, Naruto. If Sakura were a princess, we wouldn't have put her on a team with you. Now, be more patient. I will bring him in right now for you." Sarutobi told them with amusement. "Send in our visitor, if you will!" He called to a Chunin by the door. Team seven looked around to the door behind them as it swung open.
"What the? A bunch of little snot-nosed kids?" The man on the other side asked in annoyance as he surveyed the team of Genin and a single Jounin in front of him. Taking a few large gulps of the alcohol he had in his hands, the ninja of team seven took a chance to give him a proper look at.
He wore light brown trousers, which cut off at his ankles, and a black sleeveless shirt with a piece of purple cloth around it as a belt. The man was rather largely built with broad shoulders and a bit of a stomach, and his skin was tanned. A piece of rope was tied around his head for what seemed like no particular reason while his spiky hair and short beard were both grey. On his back was a large, black bag with a few tan coloured scroll at the top.
"Huh?" Naruto voiced as he looked at the unimpressive man.
"You're just baby ninja, aren't you?" The stranger continued. "As for you, the shortest one with the idiotic look on your face, do you really expect me to believe that you're a ninja?" He questioned.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Naruto laughed loudly, probably not realising that he was the one being spoken to. "Who's the shortest one with the idiotic look on…his…face?" He asked, looking from Sasuke to Sakura and back again until he finally got it. Both then straightened up to their full height. Naruto looked at them and saw that Sasuke was the tallest –by only a few centimetres-, and then it was Sakura and finally him…by a good few inches.
"Baka." The two muttered simultaneously before Sakura glared at the Uchiha for copying her and Sasuke just stared in return with a small tint of pink on his cheeks. Luckily, Sakura missed the blush.
"I'll demolish you!" Naruto cried as he tried to get fee from Kakashi's grip on the back of his jacket to flatten the man who insulted him.
"You can't 'demolish' the client, Naruto. it doesn't work that way." Kakashi informed him carelessly, as if he were telling him that the sky wasn't orange and rivers weren't made of ramen…which Sakura actually had to do last week. The man took another chug of his drink, acting like nothing was going on.
"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder and I must return to my country as soon as I can. I'm building a bridge there that will change our world and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your own life in exchange for mine." He demanded.
[--
A shadowed figure jumped though the trees, the face completely unseen and at such speeds that it would take a great ninja to catch up to whoever this person was. They landed on the ground and sprinted across the forest floor, heading towards a clearing.
[--
At the gates of Konoha, team seven was just setting out with their new charge, Tazuna the bridge builder. Naruto was leading the pack with Sakura just behind him, Tazuna behind her and Kakashi and Sasuke coming up in the back. The blonde turned to face his travelling companions and cheered loudly.
"Yeah! Alright!" He yelled.
"What are you getting so excited about, Naruto?" Sakura asked, in a tone that said she didn't care but would prefer to know than be in the dark about his source of happiness.
"This is the first time I've ever left the village!" The blonde pronounce, looking in every direction. "I'm a traveller now, Dattebayo! Sakura-chan, you must have left the village before now anyway, right?" He asked, now paying full attention to the girl. Sasuke also looked at her from the corner of his eyes.
"What makes you say that?" She asked airily.
"Its just; you were never in the village until two years ago, and then you just mysteriously showed up for class one day without a word of where you came from." Naruto pointed out.
"Yeah…I've been outside the village before. Big deal." She shrugged, closing her eyes and trying to ignore everyone.
"Wahoo! Now I'm a traveller just like Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, just as loudly as his first proclamation.
"Hey! Am I supposed to trust my life to this runt, that brooder and his girlfriend? He's nothing but an orange and blonde joke." Tazuna pointed out.
"Huh. They're all with me and I'm a Jounin, so you don't need to worry, sir." Kakashi assured him.
"He's a joke!" "He's a joke!" "He's a joke!"
Played though Naruto's head over and over as Sasuke tried to calm a raging Sakura. Not only did Tazuna insult Naruto, but he implied that the pinkette was Sasuke's girlfriend. Oh, blood was going to be spilt for her revenge!
'NO ONE CALLS MY SASUKE-BAKA'S GIRLFRIEND! HE WILL DIE!' Sakura raged inside her mind as she tried to get out of Sasuke's grip around her small waist.
'Cha! Sasuke-kun's girlfriend! Sakura and Sasuke! Sasuke and Sakura! That has a ring to it!' Inner gushed, squeezing the life out of her Sasuke plushie.
'Damn…she's strong!' Sasuke thought as he held tighter to her waist to stop her from killing their client.
'Why did we have to get this old geezer to guard? I'm going to cut him down to size right now!' Naruto promised.
"Hey! Never insult a ninja! It's a big mistake to do something as stupid as that, old man!" The blonde yelled. "You should know that I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday, I'm going to be a Hokage and you'll have to look up to me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!"
"Whatever." Tazuna muttered.
"And another thing! Sakura-chan is not Sasuke-teme's girlfriend!" Naruto added, remembering what the old man had said before.
"That's not what it looks like to me." Tazuna replied, jabbing a thumb behind him to where Sasuke had his arms locked around Sakura's waist and his chin was rested on her shoulder. Sakura had stopped raging a few moments before, but she forgot Sasuke was holding her. Naruto gawked at the scene before growing angry.
"YOU TEME! SAKURA-CHAN IS MINE! DATTEBAYO!" He seethed.
"Naruto…what are you talking about?" Sakura questioned.
"HE'S GOT HIS ARMS ALL OVER YOU!" Naruto screamed. Sakura looked at him with a puzzled expression while Sasuke looked at Naruto with a lazy glare for reminding Sakura of his hold on her.
"Get off, Uchiha." She sighed, pulling his arms away from her and pushing the boy back before walking to Naruto.
"My mistake." Tazuna said with a wave of his hand. "She must be you're girlfriend." He shrugged. Naruto blushed as Sakura's right eye twitched a little.
"I'M NOT ANYONE'S GIRLFRIEND! I'M A NINJA!" She screeched at him.
[--
The shadow covered figure continued to run on foot, though more of the green leaf covered trees and bushes. Whoever this person was then jumped up and though a hold in the canopy.
[--
Tazuna took another swig of his alcohol and observed Naruto with a cool gaze as Kakashi and Sasuke both held Sakura back from pummelling him with her biceps. No doubt that all four of the men present were noting to never get on her bad side.
"Hokage and powerful and wise…you are shrimpy and brainless. The day you become a Hokage is the day I'll sprout wings and fly." The bridge builder told Naruto nonchalantly.
"Argh! Shut up! I'm willing to do anything to become a Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja of Konoha…including you!" Naruto yelled, now getting thoroughly pissed off with the old man's words and how he uses every opportunity he can to put the boy down a few pegs in his self-confidence.
"Heh. You can become Hokage ten times over and to me you'll still be a no body with a pink-haired girlfriend." Tazuna scoffed.
"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND, DAMMIT!"
"You'll always be a loser." He concluded. Naruto attempted to punch him, but Kakashi managed to let go of Sakura's arm in time to catch the boy's collar as Sasuke shifted to hold Sakura's waist again, just to stop her from beating the bridge-builder to within an inch of his life.
"I'm gonna make you pay for that right now!" Naruto promised, flailing his arms around with his hands clenched into fists.
"I told you; you're supposed to protect the client, not attack him." Kakashi said in a worn and tired tone, obviously getting fed up of saying this same thing over and over again.
"Try telling that to Naruto's girlfriend." Sasuke taunted as he struggled to keep a grip on Sakura, who then turned and punched him right in the face for his comment…hard.
"Well, now I feel better." She said with a smirk as Sasuke wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth and glared at her.
Tazuna, not really interested in anything going on, began to walk down the road again.
In the tree over-looking the scene of Sasuke and Sakura fighting as Naruto tried to free himself from Kakashi's grip and punch the bridge builder for the insults, the shadowed figure landed on a large branch.
Two faces looked on from inside of on black cloak, both of which had black masks and the symbol for the village hidden in the mist on their Hatei-ates, which were strapped securely to their foreheads.
[--
"Oi! Tazuna-san!" Sakura called to the old man as they walked along a dirt road though the forest.
"What is it?" He answered gruffly.
"Your country is the land of waves, right?" She asked.
"Yeah, what of it?" Tazuna replied, looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and hate. It was an obvious fact by now that Sakura and Tazuna weren't going to get along.
"Just wanted to see if you really came from that pathetic place or if you were just lying back there." She shrugged, smirking when Tazuna choked on his own spit, growled a little and clenched his fists.
"Pathetic? What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked curiously. In return, Sakura's smirk grew wider.
"It's just that I travelled though there before on my way to Konoha two years ago. They have no ninja to protect them." She informed him, raising an eyebrow when Tazuna growled louder. "Poor, poor Tazuna-san lives in one of the few countries that have no ninja to fall back on in a time of need."
"Eh? I don't get it." He said, rubbing his blonde head in confusion.
"Let me explain it you, Naruto." Kakashi intervened when Sakura said nothing. "In other countries, there are hidden villages, each with there own different customs and cultures, where ninja reside. To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages means strength; military strength."
"In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighbouring countries." Sakura explained when she saw the still confused look on Naruto's face.
"Right." Kakashi nodded. "The ninja villages are not controlled by any government. They're independent and have equal status. Now, a small island like the land of waves has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for a ninja village. Each ninja village has a 'Kage' to rule over them and it is that Kage's job to keep peace with other countries."
"Oh! I get it now! So the Hokage is really important then!" Naruto proclaimed, grinning wildly.
'Humph! Is that old man really that important? I'm not buying it for one second!' Inner Sakura stated as she remembered back to when she, Naruto and Hinata were in his office just after Naruto got told to re-do his ninja photo.
[--
The clouds around Naruto almost fully cleared, leaving him behind in his 'sexy no jutsu' form like yesterday with Iruka. Sakura, still with her eyes closed, growled softly while Hinata just sat their. She didn't know what was going on, but was confident that her friends would tell her later.
"Pretty please, lord Hokage?" Naruto asked in his girl form with a voice to match, Sakura scoffed, but kept her eyes closed.
The Hokage took one look at 'Naruko', which is the name Naruto gave to his female look, and he yelled as he fell back in his chair, stunned by what he had just seen and heard. Naruto transformed back and just stared at the Hokage, now knowing that he was a pervert amongst the rest.
"Naruto?" Sakura asked irritated.
"Oh! Sorry, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan. You two can look now." He told them, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Sakura walked passed him on the way to her own seat and hit him gently in the back of his head before noticing the Hokage on the floor.
"Um?" She asked, Hinata nodding in agreement with the 'question'.
"I used sexy no jutsu and he fell backwards." Naruto told them. The Hokage got up and wiped his nose, trying to regain his dignity.
[--
"Hey!" Kakashi call. "You all just doubted lord Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking." He stated, getting it right the first time he guessed. Naruto shook his head like mad while Sasuke and Sakura just stood still.
"Whatever. It's pretty basic, Naruto. See…we have Konoha and they have, um, what was it again? Oh yeah…nothing." Sakura taunted, making sure Tazuna could hear her.
"Do you have something against me or my country, brat?" Tazuna snapped, holding a fist towards the pinkette.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Both you and your country piss me off. You because of your attitude towards Naruto and the rest of us and your country because of what I saw two years ago!" She bit back.
"Hey, calm down!" Kakashi ordered. "There may not be any ninja battles in a C-ranked mission, but we should try to remain calm here." He said, placing his hand on Sakura's head to stop her verbal abuse.
Tazuna's eyes narrowed at those words as Kakashi chuckled. Sasuke turned around to face his sensei. Naruto pouted, wanting to fight ninja and not just walk to a country and back as Sakura rolled her eyes and swatted Kakashi's hand away from her head.
[--
The group were still walking, now having come to a small but deep river, and were just crossing a bridge at that moment. Naruto was still in the lead but Tazuna was behind him rather than Sakura and then Kakashi, since the others had voted t keep the old man and the young girl separated. Sasuke and Sakura were walking side-by-side at the back, just in case he needed to hold her back from hitting the elder man.
Once they were over the bridge, they didn't feel any need to travel in a line any more and so Naruto had slowed his pace and taken the left side of Sakura as his walking area while Sasuke remained firmly on her right, refusing to leave her side. Kakashi and Tazuna walked next to each other just a little way ahead of the Genin.
As they walked passed a puddle, only Sakura and Kakashi cast a spare look towards it. No rain had fallen recently enough for it to appear as if a storm had just passed, so it seemed a bit odd to them as to the reason a puddle would be in the middle of the road. Also, that puddle was the only one anywhere in sight.
Ripples appeared in the puddle once the entire Konoha group had passed it and a black hair-covered head lifted out of the surface of the water. Soon following it was the entire body of a man, covered in a large black cloak with the bottom half of his face hidden under a gas mask. His hair showed, but half of it was perfectly combed and neat while the other was wild and un-brushed.
The one man split into two as one of them jumped up with a silver chain in his head, travelling at a great speed. The chain was attached to a metal hand-cover that each of the men was wearing, and they wrapped the spiked metal chain around Kakashi's body, since he was the easiest to attack from where they were.
"Huh?" Naruto asked in shock.
"What's going on?" Sasuke questioned, shielding his eyes from the dust that the men gather from their speed.
"I have to stop them!" Sakura cried as the dist cleared.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed in worry over the life of the one man protecting them.
"Yeah!" On of the men cheered.
"Let's do it!" The other prompted.
Everyone looked on in shock as Kakashi's one visible eye widened a little and the two men moved again, pulling the chains tighter and tighter around his large form until he was completely torn apart. Blood covered the ground and splashed on the faces of the two men, who seemed unaffected by the result of their attack.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, wanting to do something…anything that would save him and make it so what just happened would undo itself. The two men appeared behind Naruto and laughed.
"Now it's your turn." One stated to the blonde.
They came at him with the same chain that had been used to rip Kakashi apart only moments ago, fully intending on killing the Kyuubi vessel before he got the change to do anything. All Naruto could do was stare at them in a mixture of shock and fear as they came closer and closer.
Sasuke acted quickly and out of pure instinct, using a shuriken to pin the chain to the tree nearest before it could wrap around and kill Naruto. He then used a kunai to reinforce the hold the shuriken already had on the chain, just to make sure they couldn't use it.
"Argh! I can't get loose!" The man with straight hair complained as both he and the look-alike with messy hair pulled on the chain to free it from the tree. Naruto stared in awe at Sasuke as the Uchiha landed on the metal claws covering the hands of the mist ninja. He then took a good grip on their arms and kicked their faces, causing them to go back until the chain snapped.
Both then ran from Sasuke and one aimed once more for Naruto as the other ran at Tazuna. Sakura, using all the speed she could muster, moved in front of Tazuna with a kunai ready in hand, ready to risk her own life for his as he had stated they should do back with the Hokage.
The Uchiha's head turned in her direction as the man lifted a clawed hand to attack her and he grew angry for reasons he couldn't explain. Every movement and every breath seemed to slow down as the claw got closer and closer to the pinkette. Sasuke, not knowing what he was doing, moved in front of her with his arms spread and his eyes glaring at the one who would hurt her.
A hit that could and probably would kill him was on its way and all Sasuke could think was that at least Sakura would be okay. Not a second before impact, the man was grabbed around the neck by none other than their previously 'dead and torn apart' sensei, Kakashi. This same sensei also had the other man in a tight grip with his second arm.
Naruto was on the floor, still awaiting him impending doom, when he heard a gasp from on of the mist men and looked up. He gaped at the silver-haired man as he single-handedly took down both of the threats in less than a minuet of showing up again.
"Yo!" Kakashi greeted casually as he held the two men.
'Thank Kami-sama that he's alright.' Sakura sighed mentally.
'You sound like you care.' Inner noted, not mockingly but slightly happy by it.
'…I don't…he's just needed for my plan to work.' She thought as a scowl met her face. 'And Sasuke needs to learn that I can defend myself.' The girl added as she looked at the back of her team mate.
'Hn. Show-off.' Sasuke thought with a scowl as Kakashi stole the attention he could have gotten from Sakura for saving her life at the risk of his own.
"Huh? But he was-" Naruto started, looking towards the place Kakashi's remains fell. All that he saw now were an assortment of different sized logs in odd locations. "Kakashi-sensei…used the replacement jutsu."
"Naruto…sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt or anything, I just didn't think that you'd freeze up like you did back there." Kakashi stated to the frightened blonde.
'They saved me after all.' Tazuna thought with a sigh of relief. 'This little brat…Sakura was even willing to risk her life for me.' He added, casting a glance at the frowning preteen.
"Good job, Sasuke. Very smooth." Kakashi complimented, walking towards the Uchiha, Sakura and Tazuna. "You too, Sakura."
'I was useless…' Naruto thought in disbelief. 'And Sasuke acted so cool, like he'd done this a thousand times! Didn't he feel scared at all? He looked so calm. There's not a scratch on him! And what about Sakura-chan? She was great and Sasuke even protected her! She's gonna like him more than me now!' He said mentally, growing worried.
"Hey." Sasuke called calmly.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked, ready to become defensive. Sasuke looked at him was a mocking smirk.
"You're not hurt, are ya?" He questioned tauntingly. "Scaredy cat."
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr! SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, ready to fight him.
"Naruto." Kakashi calling out in a hurried tone. "Stand still. These ninja have poison in their claws. We need to take it out of you quickly." Naruto grew worried, looking at the cut on his hand. "We'll have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood, so don't move around; that spreads the poison. By the way, Tazuna-san."
"Ugh…y-yeah, what?" Tazuna replied shakily.
"We need to talk." Kakashi stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments.
[--
Kakashi now had the mist ninja tied to a tree with everyone surrounding it, on guard in case of a surprise attack. Sasuke was standing on the far left with Sakura to his right, then Kakashi next to her, then Tazuna and finally Naruto on the far right.
"These ninja are two Chunin from the land hidden in the mist." Kakashi observed carefully. "Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice."
"How did you know about our ambush?" One of the two tied against the tree asked the Jounin suspiciously.
"A puddle…on a clear day? When it hasn't rained in weeks?" Kakashi pointed out.
"In that case, why'd you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna questioned.
"I could have taken them out quickly." Kakashi boasted. "However, if that were the case, I would've learned nothing. I had to know who their target was, if there was a target, and what they're after."
"Hm? What are you getting at?" The bridge builder questioned.
"This. I wanted to know if they were targeting us –ninja attacking ninja- or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you first put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen." The silver-haired man stated. "You didn't mention that there were ninja after you; hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B-ranked mission or higher, depending on the level and number of ninja after you. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finish building your bridge."
"Meaning that we weren't supposed to be fighting other ninja along the way, for your information." Added an agitated Sakura.
"Quite right, Sakura. If we knew that we should be expecting attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B-ranked mission. Apparently, you have your reasons. But lying to us is unacceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission." The concluded.
"We're Genin. This is too advanced for our level of training!" Sakura yelled at him as she observed Naruto's injured hand while holding it for her to see as delicately as possible.
"Naruto's hand could become a problem." Kakashi stated when he saw Sakura looking over the wound. "I guess we should go back to the village." He decided. Naruto's breathing grew heavier as he pulled his hand away from Sakura and used the other to grab a kunai. Everyone grew shocked as he drove the kunai though his hand.
"Why am I so different?" Naruto asked himself. "Why am I always…argh!"
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, running to him. "Stop that right now!"
"I worked so hard to get here. Pushing myself until it hurt. Training alone for hours…anything to get stronger. Just to reach my dream." He said as he remembered all of the extra training he did at home. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away, and I will not lose to Sasuke." With these words, Sasuke looked at him with mild awe. "Upon this wound, I make this pledge. Dattebayo. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with my life. A real ninja never gives up and neither will I. don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Now let's go!"
"Naruto…er…that was really, um, cool how you took the poison out and all, but if you lose any more blood…you're going to die." Sakura stated calmly as she looked at him with a small smirk. "It would be a good idea to stop the bleeding now, seriously."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SAVE ME! HELP! I DON'T WANNA DIE HERE!" Naruto yelled loudly.
"Pff, show me your hand." Sakura ordered. Naruto stopped his whining and held his hand out for her, which she grabbed. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the cut, which was burning with orange chakra and reducing in size fast.
'His wound…it's already healing!' She thought in amazement with a hard expression adorning her features.
"Ummm." Naruto began, getting her attention. "You have a really serious look on your face. You're scaring me. Am I going to die?"
"Uhh, no. you should be a-okay!" She smiled fakely. Everyone looked at her and she just looked down to his hand again, wrapping it and some bandages from her pouch.
'This healing power…I know it is from the Kyuubi. It's so amazingly fast that he should be fine in a matter of minuets. I also know that the more Naruto uses the Kyuubi's chakra, the easier the seal around its cage would be to break. He doesn't know it, but every day Naruto is getting closer and closer to being taken over by the fox. I...I don't want to lose him.' She thought with a mental sob, her emotions taking control for a while with the thought of losing Naruto.
Without any forewarning or explanation to the blonde or her team, Sakura jumped forwards and held Naruto in a tight hug. Not wanting to let go, Sakura rested her head on his shoulder and held on even tighter than before. She was acting as if letting go meant that he would leave and never come back, but everyone else didn't know that.
"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in wonder. Sakura lifted her head and pulled away from her one-sided hug before taking a few steps away from Naruto and turning her back on everyone.
"Let's get going already! We've wasted enough time here!" She barked, walking quickly in the direction of wave country.
Naruto looked down on his jacket where Sakura had rested her head and saw a small patch of the orange was darker than the rest and, when he ran a hand over it, it felt a bit damp. She had cried.