Typical Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I don't even own this computer I am using.


'Just another day in Konoha.' The silver haired Jounin muttered to himself. 'Another day and another mission with this damn cat.'

It had been two weeks since the test and things couldn't have been worse. Each day had been the same. Team Seven would meet at a bridge near their training ground. Sasuke and Naruto would always show fifteen minutes prior to when he said they should be there. Of course, the Jounin was already nearby at the Memorial Stone while having a Kage Bunshin near the bridge watching the team interact.

Most of the Jounin instructors would have been deep into training jutsus and chakra exercises, but Kakashi was more concerned about how the team worked with each other. He did not want to risk a repeat of history from his earlier team nor the previous team that was Team Seven.

It was understandable that the two otoutos were like their Otousan in how they were early to everything. It was also understandable how their rivalry was growing each day. Within five minutes, the two would be sparring or going though some sort of practice challenge to prove one was better than the other. A few minutes later, Sakura would show up and instantly be cheering Sasuke on. Within an hour, she would join in just to prove she could keep up with her crush.

It would be at least thirty minutes later that the Jounin would arrive to either go through teamwork exercises or go do a set of D-ranked missions. Sasuke and Sakura would never openly complain about the missions or the training, even though it was evident that it was not what they expected it to be like. Naruto would yell and complain about the lack of jutsus being taught or how lame the missions were.

Originally, Kakashi meant for the exercises to build stamina and chakra while working on their camaraderie. By this day, Kakashi was beginning to agree with Naruto with things being a waste of time. Maybe he would work on getting a better mission to test their skills and truly judge where the group was. Either way, it was time to get this mission over with.

"Wolfbane to Team. Are you in position? Over."

A quiet voice sounded through Kakashi's earpiece in reply. "Raven in position, over."

"Fox in position, over." Replied an overly annoyed voice.

"Blossom in position, over." The last of the group answered.

"Team, move in and acquire target!"

In a flash, three young Genin sprung from their hiding places to surround a scared gray and while feline with a red bow on its tail. The blonde-haired Genin moved to pounce on the cat, but it sprang away into the waiting arms of his pink-haired teammate.

"Raven to Wolfbane. Target acquired, over." Sasuke uttered in a bored tone over the radio.

"Wolfbane to Raven. Does the target have the appropriate markings? Over."

"Raven to Wolfbane. Ribbon confirmed, over"

"Target confirmed. Team regroup at rally point, Wolfbane out."

Sasuke grumbled as he unclipped his wireless radio and placed it back in an equipment pouch. "Come on. Let's get this useless mission over with."

Naruto growled in frustration as he walked towards the rally point behind his two teammates. "Can't we just get rid of this thing?" He asked pointing to the cat. "It needs to be put out of our misery."

"You Baka! No, we can't do that to this sweet cat!" Sakura admonished while petting the slightly frightened feline.

"Whatever. This had better be the last time we deal with this cat. I will not be responsible for what happens the next time." Naruto muttered absentmindedly fingering his kunai pouch.

Sasuke nodded in agreement as the trio arrived at the clearing where their sensei awaited. "For once, I agree with the knucklehead. I want something of more of a challenge than this."

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask when he overheard the Uchiha's statement. 'It looks like I am not the only one who wants a better mission.'


Hokage's Office

There were many duties that a clan leader who was a member of the Council was supposed to carry out. Besides running the day to day business of the clan and deciding on affairs related to the well-being of Konoha, a clan leader was to sit from time to time with the Hokage during mission assignments of a non secret nature.

Today was Chronos's turn at overseeing the missions. It was midday and Genin teams were starting to return from their morning D-rank missions. The level of mission they had already assigned seemed more like routine chores and daily errands than real missions. When Sasuke and Naruto's team was assigned the cat retrieval mission, he instantly regretted it. He knew how they already despised that cat from the five other times they captured it. They were finishing those types of missions at a clip of three to four a day. Eventually he knew they would want something more challenging.

It was while waiting with the Fire Daimyo's wife when Team Seven burst through the doors of the office.

"Hatake Kakashi, Jounin leader of Team Seven, reporting all missions a success." The cyclopean shinobi stated.

Gleefully the older lady rushed over to snatch the cat from Sakura, squeezing the poor feline in a bone-crunching hug. "Tora!!"

As the woman left the room, the young Genin exhaled in relief. "If I never see that cat again, it would be a minor miracle." Naruto complained.

Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe before browsing through a set of scrolls from a bin next to him. "Well done Team Seven. We have a few more missions that you could do today."

Chronos barely concealed a flinch as the Hokage listed off one menial task after another until a loud meow followed by a bellowing female voice filled the air.

"And finally we have the retrieval of the Fire Daimyo wife's cat." Sarutobi finished with an exasperated tone.

"Hell no, Ojiisan! There is no way I am going on another mission to get that baka of a cat. There has to be a mission in that pile more worthy of our great skills." Naruto emphatically replied.

"Watch your tongue and show some respect for the Hokage. You are just a Genin and are not ready for a higher ranked mission." Iruka responded in an attempt to shut Naruto's request down.

Chronos watched amusedly as the Hokage began to extol on the differences in mission ranks and what a Genin was expected of. While Sarutobi was giving his lecture, the team, Kakashi included, was peering over at a scroll the Jounin had.

"As you can see, Sasuke, this scroll supposedly was meant for both of your kekkei genkai to mature at a faster rate. Unfortunately Naruto, these exercises won't help until after your thirteenth birthday." The silver-haired adult informed his students.

"But won't these exercises help all of us with our hand-eye coordination and observational skills??" Sakura asked.

"Quite correct, Sakura. That is why we will be doing these exercises later on as well as some chakra control exercises as a group starting tomorrow." He replied with his usual eye-smile.

By this time, Iruka had lost his temper. "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO THE HOKAGE?!"

Kakashi simply looked up lazily. "Gomen Hokage-sama, Iruka-san. Were you saying something??"

At that point a laugh filled the room. Everyone turned to see Chronos laughing at the spectacle in front of him. A fleeting moment passed before he realized that everyone, including the Hokage, was staring at him.

"Is something amusing you, Chronos-san?" Sarutobi inquired with a threatening tone.

"Gomen Hokage-sama, but I couldn't help myself with their antics." He replied embarrassingly.

"I see. Well since they want a higher ranked mission and you only had one, maybe you should join them on a C-rank mission."

Seeing the pleading look on his youshis' faces, Chronos almost felt obligated to comply. "Hai, Hokage-sama. What mission do you have in mind?"

Pulling out a scroll from the C-rank bin, he quickly scanned it and nodded in approval. "I have a simple escort mission."

"Ooh, ooh. Who are we escorting?? Is it some daimyo or maybe even a princess??" Naruto asked as he bounded from foot to foot.

Sarutobi waved over to a guard stationed at the door. "Please bring the client in."

The guard complied and after a quick word, a tanned man with a graying beard walked in sipping on a sake bottle. He wore a tan sleeveless peasant shirt, baggy gray pants, sandals, and had a straw hat hanging behind his shoulders.

"Is this what my money is good for? A one-eyed ninja and three brats playing ninja?" The man said in-between sips of sake.

"Playing ninja?!" Naruto shouted as the tried to leap at the man. Luckily for the client, Kakashi managed to restrain the blonde.

"Now Naruto, you can't go and kill the client." He said with a small eye smile.

"That's right brat. I am the super bridge builder, Tazuna. You are to protect me with your life, even though I am not sure if you are the right ones for the job." The old man replied indignantly while taking another drink of sake.

"Don't worry, Tazuna-san. They are three of the best Genin in the village and if that isn't enough, I am a Jounin that can handle anything that comes our way." Kakashi replied with a cheery tone.

All of a sudden, Tazuna felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He turned his head nervously to see Chronos shimmering into view, standing there smiling wickedly.

"If you think that they can't do the job, I definitely can." Chronos said as Tazuna gulped and nodded weakly. "Ano… just one more thing. I wouldn't doubt my youshis' skills ever again if you prefer breathing."

The Genin of Team Seven stood in amazement, even the stoic Uchiha. Of course, one of them couldn't stay quiet.

"Otousan, that was amazing. When you going to teach me that?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Chronos just grinned. "For you, I wanted to wait and make that your birthday present, but I could be persuaded to change my mind."

Before Naruto could pounce on the opportunity, the Copy-nin made his presence known. "If you don't mind, we probably should get moving. I doubt the Hokage would want us sitting here discussing your teaching methods. Let's meet at the main gate in an hour. Tazuna, if you would come with me." He said as the Jounin escorted the bridge builder out of the office.

Shrugging, Chronos turned to the remainder of Team Seven. "Sakura, can you make it to the gate packed and ready to go in forty-five minutes?"

Sakura blanched at the idea of having to move that quickly. "Didn't Kakashi-sensei say one hour? Knowing him, isn't that code for three hours??"

The Marine clan head let out a slight growl of displeasure before responding. "You wouldn't want me thinking less of your character, would you?"

Quickly recalling their first conversation at the Ramen stand, she sprinted out the door at speeds no one in the room ever seen her do before.

"I guess we should get going. I want to get this mission over quickly." Chronos stated.

"Why is that?? Got a hot date with snake lady?? I haven't seen her since the party." Naruto asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"I have no clue what you are talking about." The elder Uzumaki replied.

Sasuke snorted. "Like you should talk. I bet you have one with Hinata, eh knucklehead?"

Naruto blushed before responding. "Yeah right. You got a better shot at getting a date with your Sakura-chan than I do with Hinata-hime."

Sasuke smirked trying to contain his laughter. "So it is Hinata-hime now, eh?? Tell me Naruto, when is the wedding??"

"Stuff it, TEME!!" the blonde said before running off to pack.

Father and son looked at each other before heading out the door. 'This is going to be a fun time messing with the dobe.' Sasuke thought.


In exactly forty-four minutes, everyone but Kakashi and Tazuna was standing at the main gate. All three Genin had packs full and were ready to go while Chronos stood there with a cardboard box in his hands and his pack on the ground.

"Did you pack any food Sakura?" Chronos asked.

"Hai. I packed my strawberries and ration bars." Sakura stated like any good Genin fresh out of the Academy.

"Ration bars?? Forget that. I got something better in this box. We'll divide them out when Kakashi and Tazuna get here."

"What is in the box?" She inquired curiously.

"Meals Ready to Eat, or better known as MREs. Some are quite good while others not as good. I managed to save these from my home before it was obliterated. They are of the newest menu they had so there should even be a couple vegetarian meals if you need them." He responded proudly.

"Is there any Ramen in them? You wouldn't let me pack my Ramen cups." Naruto asked hopefully. He was slightly bitter that he would be away from Kami's precious noodles.

"No, there is no ramen but plenty of good meals in there. Typically, there is a lot of trading going on when meals are broken out. Mostly people looking for cheese spread."

Sasuke just gave his Otousan a confused look. "Cheese spread? What is so special about that?"

Chronos was about to expound on the virtues of cheese spread and crackers when Kakashi and Tazuna joined the group. All four of them turned to look at the newly arrived Jounin and bridge builder with an appearance of utmost shock and disbelief.

Sakura put her hands together into a seal. "Kai." She uttered with her eyes closed. Opening them, she saw Kakashi looking at her in an irritated manner.

"What did you do that for?" he asked with a hint of anger.

"You are early." She replied pointing with a shaky finger.

"I can be early if I want to be." The Copy-nin replied.

"Then why don't you show up on time to our meetings??" Naruto asked in a near shout.

"Eh, did you say something Naruto??" he responded with a bored look on his face.

"Whatever." The hyper blonde said in a huff while looking at the gate. "Could we start this mission already?"

Sakura was starting to get annoyed. 'This is going to be such a long mission.' She thought rolling her eyes. "Why are you so eager, Naruto? Got a date? Not like someone would date you but you never know…"

"You too eh?" He retorted shaking his head. "I'm just excited about my first time out of the village."

"Really? It isn't that special. My kaasan took me out on a trip a few times." Sakura said off-handedly.

Naruto hung his head and walked over to Chronos to grab a couple MREs to place in his pack. Sakura seeing the change of reaction whispered to Kakashi. "What did I do?"

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Until just few months ago, he had no one to do what you take for granted with your kaasan."

Sakura sighed with a twinge of regret. 'Great. I just made this a longer mission. Maybe I can still salvage things and impress Sasuke-kun and Chronos-san.'


It was mostly a quiet walk for the last six hours before the group spotted a decent spot to camp for the night. A few meters from the trail was a small depression ringed by trees. Tasks were quickly distributed; Sasuke and Sakura gathered firewood while the rest set up the tents. Within an hour, a decent fire was burning and the group was having their first taste of an MRE. After a quick demonstration of how the MRE heaters worked, followed by repeated warnings to Naruto to not drink the water after it was used in the heater, everyone ate their meals happily.

With the meals finished and the moon rising, the group turned to rest. Kakashi set up a watch schedule, which Chronos immediately made a slight alteration to. The original plan had each Genin taking a three hour shift starting at nine. Chronos altered it to overlapping four hour shifts, with two awake at all times. Chronos stayed up with Naruto for the first half of his shift and Kakashi would join Sasuke on the last half of his shift with Sakura taking the middle watch.

The area was quiet when Chronos went to wake Sakura at eleven to begin her shift. She grumpily woke up after her two hour nap and lethargically donned her gear to join Naruto. He was walking stealthily around the rim of the depression when she finally reached him. The blonde acknowledged his bubblegum-haired teammate with a nod while continuing his pacing. She fell in by his side as they marched around the campsite.

It took thirty minutes of pacing before Sakura worked up the nerve to speak. "Naruto, about what I said before we left the village. I wanted to…"

"Don't worry about it, Sakura." The Uzumaki interrupted. "You don't need to apologize."

"Yes I do. I took for granted how happy you always look. I didn't know how things were earlier in your life." She replied regret dripping in every word.

Sighing, Naruto waited a few seconds before responding. "Seriously, you didn't have to apologize. I know we haven't been that nice to each other at times, but sometimes being friends means never having to apologize. Ojiisan told me that once."

"You mean the Hokage right?" Seeing Naruto nod, she continued. "How do you get away with that? You know it is disrespectful."

"I give nicknames to people I like and call them that. I don't like how some people always called the Hokage by his title. It made it sound like they were talking to the position and not the man. That man was the first person to really see me for me." He replied with a smile. Sakura noticed the smile seemed a bit warmer than his usual ones, even though there still was a touch of sadness behind it.

"I assume that was why you called me Sakura-chan for a time." She commented sadly. That realization made it obvious that at some point she lost standing in his mind. Not like she ever really cared what he thought, but the idea that someone used to think highly of her was painful.

"Yeah but honestly how long did you think you could hit me before I stopped crushing on you?"

"Well I didn't think of you that way. I always wanted to be with Sasuke-kun." She responded defensively.

"You could have at least tried to be nicer about it. Anyways, it's no big deal." He said smiling again. Sakura caught the falseness of the smile this time.

"Why do you do that? Smiling that way always made you look like a baka." Sakura asked curiously.

Naruto knew this day would come sooner or later. The day when someone other than family would ask about the mask. Taking a breath, he dove into the subject head-first. "Originally, I didn't want to let anyone see me cry or sad in any way. After a while, I thought I made others happy by me acting happy all the time."

"But… But what about your own happiness?" Sakura sputtered out in a bit of a shock from his words.

"When people laughed at my pranks, I was happy, even if it was for a minute or two." The prankster said with a soft but true smile.

The young kunoichi returned the smile with one of her own. "Maybe you don't want to hear it, but I still want to apologize. Maybe we can try to be friends?"

Naruto replied with a chuckle. She looked back at the blond puzzled before he replied. "Whoever said we weren't friends?"

"Really?? I thought you didn't like me, especially after that kissing prank you did with Sasuke-kun."

He laughed again. "Sakura, I only did that because the teme wanted a break. He really despises fan-girls. Even though I would not have turned down that kiss at that point in time." Naruto replied, even though he lied about the reason. At the time, he wanted her gone as well. Fan-girls annoyed him too.

"I just want Sasuke-kun to acknowledge me, like you did with Hinata at the party." The pink-haired girl replied, causing Naruto to blush slightly.

Recovering, he made his response plain. "If you really want to be with Sasuke, try not hanging off his every word and make yourself a stronger person. Be the girl I used to like, strong-willed and independent, not a fan-girl wannabe."

The rest of the watch was silent, even when Sasuke replaced Naruto for his shift. The whole time, Sakura kept mulling over her teammate's words. Maybe it was time to not be so enthusiastic about everything Sasuke-kun related. If nothing else, becoming a stronger and more independent kunoichi would improve the team. It wasn't like anything else was getting her crush's attention.


After packing up and having their morning meal, the group set out to continue their journey. Six hours later, it was midday and Sakura was making small talk to pass the time. The group was a few hours out from where they would have to cross the channel to the island known as Wave Country.

Sakura spent the last forty minutes peppering Tazuna with questions about his homeland, not noticing along with her fellow Genin a puddle in the road on a warm summer day. Kakashi noticed it first and lagged back, letting the client and the Genin ahead of him. Chronos got the signal from Kakashi that enemies were nearby and activated his Kamereon Gaitou, waiting in place for what was to transpire.

When Kakashi was past the puddle by a few paces, two men in cloaks wearing breathing apparatuses and camouflage trousers rose from it. The only difference between the two was one had horns coming from a faceplate. One of them leaped past Kakashi while a chain that seemed to shimmer with some sort of liquid connected him to his partner via clawed gauntlets.

Naruto turned at the sound of the shinobi hitting the ground. He observed his sensei being wrapped in the barbed chain and sliced into pieces.

He barely heard a whisper on the breeze. "One down." He looked around and failed to see his Otousan, which momentarily froze him. As the two men approached him, Naruto noticed Sasuke pin the chain to a nearby tree with a well struck kunai.

With a tug, the chain broke and the two attackers dashed towards Tazuna. Sakura brandished a kunai and stood in front of the client. Naruto sprung into action, launching a kunai which hit the horned individual in the calf and followed his attack up by attempting to punch him. The attacker reacted by catching his fist with his clawed gauntlet and tossing Naruto to the side. Sasuke readied another kunai and sprinted toward the wounded shinobi. Suddenly, Kakashi dropped from a nearby tree, delivering a chop to the neck, knocking the attacker out.

Sakura stood rock solid, preparing to defend the bridge builder as the other Shinobi approached. As he drew his gauntlet to prepare for an attack, a slight buzzing sound came and the shinobi rolled his eyes back. When he dropped to the ground, Chronos came into view whispering out his attack.

"Raiton: Tenohira Shuurai."

Sakura let out a breath she didn't realize she held as Naruto and Sasuke came over to check on her and the client. Seeing they were fine, Naruto turned to the two Jounin and growled out his response.

"What do you two think you were doing??"

"Calm down, Naruto." Kakashi replied. "Even though you froze initially, you recovered nicely. Sasuke, you reacted just fine. You as well, Sakura. Now Naruto, you may want to check your hand. Their claws were poisoned if that wound gives any indication."

Naruto quickly looked at his hand and saw the purple tint to the nearby skin. He started to panic when Chronos came over to help tend to the wound, flushing it out with water from a canteen.

"But, I saw you get cut to ribbons. How?" Sakura asked confused, looking back to the spot of where the silver-haired Jounin supposedly met his demise. Everyone else turned to see the spot littered with pieces of a log.

"Just a simple Kawarimi. Anyways, we needed to see who these guys were after. They are two missing-nin from the Mist known as the Demon Brothers. They are Chuunin level shinobi. They could have been after anyone but we now who they were assigned to kill." He stated after securing the Demon Brothers to a nearby tree.

One of them groggily looked up as the last knot was tied in the rope. "How… How did you know we were there? How did you track us so easily?"

"It hasn't rained in a while. Seeing a puddle in the middle of the road was too unbelievable for a warm sunny summer day. I let you two take me while he," pointing to Chronos, "hid under a better genjutsu. All done to figure out who the target was. So why are they after you Tazuna??" Kakashi finished while staring the bridge builder down.

Tazuna started to wilt under his gaze. "What do you mean?" He asked sweating.

Chronos took up the chain of questioning. "You stated in the mission brief that the most we would see was bandits and thugs. Definitely not what we saw here. So why do you have missing-inns after you?"

Tazuna sighed and started to spill the beans. "Wave Country is very poor. There was no way we could afford what the mission more than a C-rank mission."

"So you decided to deceive everyone so you could get some protection?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai. If this bridge does not get completed, Wave Country will stay poor and destitute. I can't finish the work with these ninja after me." He replied defensively.

"Knowing there will probably be more ninja on the way and possibly stronger than Chuckles and Tutu over here, it might be too much for us." Kakashi said whimsically.

Sakura started to sweat nervously. She knew she wasn't ready to take on the Chuunin and now there could be tougher opponents coming. She also knew Naruto was poisoned and if she was going to be any friend at all, she couldn't be selfish and try to continue.

"Kakashi-sensei, we should head back. Naruto is hurt and needs an antidote for that poison." Sakura stated, hoping her sensei would listen.

Naruto merely stood there steadily growing angry. He froze up during the initial attack, while Sasuke was calm and acted immediately. The sight of it all ate at him all while Chronos still tended to his youshi's wound.

'Why is this happening? We both trained hard. I put in all the effort, more so than Sasuke did. Why do I need saving? Wasn't my experience with Mizuki-teme enough?' Growling, he took out a kunai with his good hand.

"NO WAY!" He shouted as he stabbed the wound, ripping it open and letting the purple fluid built up inside his hand flow out.

Chronos and Kakashi screamed in unison. "Naruto, what do you think you are doing!?"

"I am not going to the weak link. I am not going to run and hide. I don't want to be the one being saved anymore. I had enough of that when I was younger. I swear it all by the blood I now spill and this kunai I wield. I will not quit. Lead on you old drunk. The mission continues."

Chronos whipped out his first aid kit, grabbing iodine and bandages while Kakashi picked this point in time to lecture the blond.

"It is nice that you are seeping out the poison, but you know you could die from blood loss just as much as poisoning." He replied with a simple eye smile before walking over to inspect the wound. When he got there, he saw the other Jounin with a puzzled look on his face. Then was when he noticed the wound already partially closed. Chronos just mouthed the word Kyuubi to the Sharingan user, who nodded in confirmation.

"What is wrong with you, Naruto-baka?! Do you like hurting yourself like that??" Sakura screeched her questions to the blond.

"Don't worry so much, Sakura. His hand is going to be fine now." The elder Uzumaki stated with a soft smile.

"If it's okay, can we get to the boat? I'll explain things there." Tazuna replied, getting the groups attention. Kakashi nodded then went through the hand signs to summon one of his dogs. Sending him back to the village to have someone pick up the Demon Brothers, the group continued on their way, not noticing a person in a mask wearing a white and blue kimono drop down a few minutes later. The stranger freed the two Chuunin then took off with them.


An hour later in a nearby stronghold nestled in the forest, a short graying man in a business suit and sunglasses was not pleased. He was a wealthy man and did not like wastes of money or time. Sitting in front of him was a tall brown-haired man wearing just black and gray camouflage trousers, bandages over his mouth, camouflage sleeves on his arms, and a Mist hitai-ate cocked to the side on the top of his head.

"I thought you and your ninjas were professionals and some of the best around. I paid you a great sum of money and YOU FAILED!!" The business man replied pointing to the Demon Brothers that were already there.

With amazing strength and speed, the man sitting down reached behind him and swung a massive zanbato toward the business man. Pointing the deadly weapon at his employer, he gave his answer.

"Next time, I will go myself and kill them all."


It was late afternoon when the group made it to the boat to be ferried across. A mist started to envelop the channel.

"Wave Country should be just ahead. We should see the base of the unfinished bridge soon." The ferryman stated. Within moments, the massive unfinished bridge appeared amazing all that were in the boat. Naruto would have shouted out of amazement if it wasn't for his otousan's quick thinking in covering the loud Genin's mouth.

"Arigato for getting us across." Tazuna stated quietly as they docked on the far side under cover of brush. "I probably should fill you in on everything now." He said addressing his escorts. "You were right by thinking that there is more to this mission than what meets the eye. I have a very dangerous man after me because of this bridge I am building."

"Who are you talking about?" Chronos asked.

"You probably heard of him. He is the shipping magnate, Gatou."

"Gatou." Kakashi muttered stunned. "As in the owner of the Gatou Shipping Company? He is supposedly one of the wealthiest men in the world."

"Hai, that man. What you may not know is that he gets most of his money through drug running and organized crime. He hires thugs, gangsters, and ninja to do his dirty work." Tazuna replied.

"It doesn't explain why he is after you, Tazuna-san?" Sakura asked.

Looking up at the clouds as they walked away from the bridge, he explained. "A couple of years ago, Wave was a prosperous fishing and shipping land. Eventually, it went under the watchful eye of Gatou. He came here under false pretenses and sunk his hands into everything. He now has a stranglehold on everything in Wave. Anyone that speaks out or makes a stand is killed. I started building this bridge as a way to stop it."

"How would a bridge solve things?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, if they finished the bridge, then they wouldn't have to rely on Gatou's ships anymore. Am I right?" Kakashi asked the bridge builder.

"Hai, Kakashi-san. Now you now why I did what I had to do. I needed protection, even though I didn't have the money for it. If you didn't come, I probably would have been killed and my daughter and grandson would have hated Konoha all their lives." He replied with relish.

The group rolled their eyes at the obvious play for sympathy. "No need to worry about that now. We are coming to help." Chronos replied with a cheesy grin.

Before Tazuna could thank him, Naruto heard a rustling of leaves off to the left. He spun on his heel, launching a kunai into the bushes. The rest of them turned to look where he tossed the kunai, only to see a furry white rabbit jump out of the bush.

"NARUTO!! YOU B..!" Sakura screamed but was interrupted by a firm hand on her shoulder. A chill ran up her spine as she knew who it was. She turned to see Chronos staring at her.

"Didn't I say not to insult Naruto?" He asked in a wickedly sweet tone.

"Gomen Chronos-san." She replied meekly.

While the display was going on in front of him, Kakashi figured out that there was something off about the rabbit. If it was a wild rabbit, its fur should have been brown. A rabbit's fur is only white during the winter months right before the first snowfall. His ears picked up a whirling sound in the air and he reacted as his training dictated.

"EVERYONE DOWN!!" he ordered, taking down the client. Chronos pushed down Naruto and Sakura while Sasuke ducked under his own accord.

A massive blade skimmed over their ducked heads and embedded itself into a nearby tree. In a wisp of mist, a man appeared with his bare back to the group.

"So this is the reason why the Demon Brothers failed. Sharingan Kakashi." The man stated with a gravelly voice.

'This is it. Can't hold back this time. READY…'Naruto thought as he was about to leap into action. He would have attacked if it wasn't for the outstretched hand of his sensei.

"I see, so this is the Mist's own missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza. Gomen Naruto, but this guy is on a whole different level. I'll have to take him on. Protect Tazuna." Kakashi announced, lifting up his hitai-ate to reveal his scarred eye socket and Sharingan eye. "I should be fine if I use this."

"So you reveal your Sharingan so early. I should be honored, but unfortunately that old man is mine." Zabuza replied.

Sasuke was beside himself while he stood to Tazuna's right. 'How could he have the Sharingan? Could he be…?'

Naruto would have said something but he already knew about the Sharingan from his dealings with Sasuke. Sakura would have asked but was halted when the missing-nin spoke again.

"Back when I was in the Mist, I kept a handbook covering some of the ninja I might face. You had a whole section in it, Kakashi; the Copy-nin who memorized over a thousand jutsus with that eye of yours, but enough talking. It is time for that old man to die." Zabuza stated as he jumped down from his perch, ripping his blade from the tree and landing on the nearby water.

Sensing the large amount of chakra being gathered, Kakashi steadied himself and Chronos readied his hand on Kudou Tsuu. With a barely noticeable sound, Zabuza faded from view as he called out his first jutsu.

"Kiri-gakure no Jutsu. (Hidden Mist Technique)"

Everyone started scanning the area, failing to find Zabuza as a thick mist rolled in from the water and obscured everything from view. An ominous voice echoed through the mist, startling the Genin. "Kidney, heart, liver, lung, jugular vein, clavicle vein, spine, brain. Eight lovely choices. What do I choose?"

Each of the Genin tensed, but none more so than Sasuke. In his mind, he was waging a desperate struggle as his hands started to shake.

'The killing intent he is releasing is too much. It feels like I am being strangled inside. It would almost be worth it to end it now than go though the torment.' He was broken out of his thoughts by a cheery voice from his sensei of all people.

"Don't worry Sasuke. I don't let my comrades die." He said giving an eye-smile back to his student.

As soon as the words were spoken, Zabuza appeared between the Genin and Tazuna.

"Are you so sure, Kakashi?" the missing-nin replied as the novice ninjas and the bridge builder scattered away. Zabuza made to turn toward his target but as he went to swing his zanbato, he stopped as a kunai was lodged in his back. He glanced down to see Kakashi wielding the offending blade.

Sakura noticed movement from behind the copy-nin as soon as the Zabuza in front of him dispersed into water.

"Sensei, behind you!!"

Before Kakashi could turn, the missing-nin slashed through the Jounin, but his body turned to water as well.

'So he managed to copy my Mizu Bunshin while inside the mist. Impressive.' Zabuza thought as he readied his next attack, but was stopped by a kunai held at his neck and a katana pointed at his heart.

Before Kakashi could utter a word, he collapsed. Giving Zabuza an opening, he parried Kudou Tsuu out of the way and whirled for a spinning heel kick. Chronos leaped out of the way and summoned a Kage Bunshin to delay the missing-nin.

As the two dueled, Chronos dragged Kakashi back to Tazuna. Rummaging through his discarded pack, he found a set of hypodermicneedles. He looked over Kakashi and found a small set of cuts in his uniform that were soaked in some sort of liquid. By the smell, he could tell it was some sort of toxin. Lifting up his right eyelid, he saw Kakashi's pupil dilated and his skin was cold and clammy.

"Is Kakashi sensei alright?" Sakura asked worried.

"He appears to be poisoned by some neurotoxin." He said handing her the needles. "Give Kakashi the first one. Jab it into his leg at the biggest meaty spot and hold it into place until all the liquid is injected. It is atropine which will slow the toxin and in some cases neutralize it. If his pupils are still dilated in five minutes, give him the second one."

Chronos stood as Sakura shakily understood her task and got to work. Seeing the Kage Bunshin on its last legs, he set his Raiu Tate in place and jumped into the fray.

Zabuza was not expecting the Kage Bunshin or the skill of the swordsman that was wielding the katana. Chronos's stance and form seemed well practiced but untried in true combat. He felt the first shock from the Raiu Tate and decided to speed things up before he got any weaker from the shocks.

Zabuza whirled and caught the Bunshin with his lead elbow directly to the bridge of the nose, dispelling the clone. Completing the turn, he slashed horizontally with his zanbato at belt level. The inexperience of Chronos showed as he leaped to avoid the slash, which the missing-nin used to his advantage. He caught the elder Uzumaki with a front kick, knocking him into the water. When Chronos swam to the surface, Zabuza was already there.

"Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)." With those words spoken, Zabuza formed a sphere of water around Chronos, trapping him inside. As much as he tried, the sphere would not break.

"That was a good try, rookie. Wasn't good enough, was it? And I was so disappointed in Kakashi. Guess the Demon Brothers did some good after all. Now for the rest of you. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu."

A copy of Zabuza rose up from the water and walked over to the group of Genin. Sakura was busy taking care of Kakashi. His skin was starting to warm up and his one regular pupil was working back to normal size, but he wasn't getting up any time soon.

'Hurry up, Kakashi-sensei. We need you. Sasuke-kun and Naruto can't hold him off forever.'

As the clone stepped onto dry land, it spoke. "Here you two are, playing ninja with your nice little hitai-ate. Until you brushed with death countless times, you aren't even worthy of being in my book. You shouldn't even call yourselves ninja yet." With those words, the Zabuza clone disappeared from view.

"What the…??" Naruto managed to get out before a front kick knocked him back ten meters, separating him from his hitai-ate

"Like I said, just a brat playing ninja." Zabuza replied with a smirk. Chronos could only sit in the water prison, unable to lift a finger while his two youshis had to fight this man alone.

Naruto was about to leave before he felt a twinge in his hand. Looking over to the affected appendage, he saw the wound from earlier and the memories of the vow he made rushed to the forefront of his mind. Taking off like a shot, he charged the Bunshin only to be knocked back again.

Sasuke was about to rush over when he saw Naruto stand up, holding his hitai-ate in his hand.

"Hey you bandaged freak. Put this in your little book. One day, the greatest Hokage ever known will stand proudly protecting Konoha. Remember the name. Uzumaki Naruto." The blonde said as he tied off his hitai-ate to his forehead.

Zabuza could only chuckle at the thought. "Why should I? Did you know at your age, my hands were already dyed in blood?" The Genin stood there shocked at the concept, allowing Zabuza the time to continue his speech. "In my old village, the Genin exam was a simple one. Kill one of your classmates. That was until I came around. Instead of just one, I killed them all. Can you imagine that? Every person you trained, ate, and slept with having to kill to be called a shinobi? It was why I was called the Demon of the Mist."

Naruto just scoffed. "Enough talk. Sasuke, you ready? I got a plan."

Sasuke barely held his laughter. "A plan from you? Really? This I got to see, knucklehead."

A bit of chuckling came from the Zabuza clone. "I see, still trying to play ninja, eh? You should have run." With that, the clone burst forward, slamming his elbow into Sasuke's stomach. He picked up the Uchiha with one of his hands then struck him to the ground with the other. Calmly standing on Sasuke's body, the clone reached for the zanbato lashed to its back. "Die."

"Damn it, teme! Now let's get wild. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With a burst of smoke, a line of twenty clones appeared. Zabuza was unimpressed.

"Kage Bunshins. A lot of them too." He said mockingly. With a rush, the mass of Naruto's dog piled onto the clone, only to be flung off by a swish of the massive blade held by the missing-nin.

As Naruto was flung off, he reached into his pack and tossed an object to the now standing Sasuke who caught it with ease.

'This is your plan, eh Naruto? Not bad at all. Maybe I won't call you a knucklehead the rest of this mission.'

Sasuke stood proudly as he unfurled the Fuuma Shuriken. With a shout, he jumped high into the air and twisted, giving as much momentum as possible to the large shuriken.

"A shuriken. You think you can defeat me with that?" the clone stated as the metallic object whirled toward him. At the last second, the shuriken dove around the clone and headed toward the real Zabuza.

"I see. I was your main target all along, but it is not enough." Zabuza stated as he caught the shuriken with his free hand while the other maintained the prison containing Chronos.

Zabuza looked up to see a second shuriken that he failed to notice. Seeing things develop, Chronos started concentrating chakra in Kudou Tsuu.

"A second shuriken hiding in the shadow of the first. Kage Shuriken no Jutsu (Shadow Shuriken) won't be enough." Zabuza said as he leaped over the shuriken.

Before it passed, all that was heard was a poof followed by two words: "Bunshin Daibakuha!"

Zabuza caught unawares was thrown forward right into his clone, dispelling it. A few cuts were showing on his chest and face as the Demon of the Mist stood. He tossed the shuriken only to hear a clang.

"Parusuha Henshin (pulse wave deflection). Nice try Zabuza, but I'm free now, and you aren't getting me that easily again." Chronos said smirking.

"Oh really, and how are you going to manage that?" Zabuza said flourishing his zanbato.

Chronos pricked his thumb and ran it across the Uzumaki symbol on his katana. "Kage Katana Bunshin no Jutsu." With those words, Kudou Tsuu glowed in an orange light before he peeled off the duplicate katana, holding one in each hand.

"So you got two swords now, big deal. There is a reason I was one of the Seven Swordsman. A rookie like you has no chance." The missing-nin scoffed.

"You know, you talk too much. I like people who talk too much. It lets me know how full of shit they really are. Katana Ude Yuukai (Katana Arm Fusion)!" the Marine finished. The hilts of the katanas wrapped around his wrists and molded to his skin. Now standing with the blades as physical extensions of his arms, he stood with one arm pointed above his head like a scorpion tail and the other straight out in front of him.

"Ready bub??" Chronos replied with a smoky voice.

Sasuke had enough by then. "Can you stop with the taunting and start kicking his ass already??"

"Fine. Ruin my fun." Chronos said as he charged in a flourish of speed. Each flick of the wrist or windmill of the arm brought deadly titanium to bear on the zanbato wielder. Zabuza kept most of the strikes from hitting him, but occasionally a handstand heel kick would strike his shoulder or a thrust would poke through. Chronos was not worse for wear either and if it wasn't for his armor inside the combat vest, he would have been cut across the chest a few times.

Finally, with a spin, Chronos caught an opening. He slashed diagonally with his right hand as he pirouetted in a clockwise manner. Zabuza swatted it away and went to hit with a lead elbow when Chronos brought both blades to bear in a crossing motion, both infused with Raiton chakra. With a clap of thunder, the attack was called out. "Raiton: Tsuin Soshi Shougekiha (twin elemental shock wave)."

Zabuza barely recovered in time to bring his zanbato up to block as the two waves of lightning crashed into him. The shock itself was enough to stun him and the force involved tossed him back into a nearby tree. Chronos was about to dash in for the kill when a volley of needles struck the former Mist-nin in the neck.

Looking up, he saw a person in a porcelain mask and a blue and white kimono drop from the tree landing nearby. Chronos went over to the body of the missing-nin and checked for a pulse, but found none.

"I guess he is dead." He said calmly. Turning to the new arrival, Chronos asked the all important question. "And you are??"

"No one of importance. I am just a Hunter-nin from the Mist. I have been trailing Zabuza for a while and been looking for an opportunity to take him down. Thanks to you, I got the opening I needed." The masked person said coldly.

"Well then, you are most welcome. What will you do now?" the Konoha Jounin asked.

"I need to take the body and dispose of it. There are too many secrets that can be extracted from this body, even after death. So if you will excuse me." The masked ninja finished as he walked to the body of Zabuza and disappeared with a seal.

Naruto took that moment to rush over. "Otousan, why didn't you do anything? I mean, he killed Zabuza so easily while it took the three of us to fight him off."

Pointing back to Kakashi, he replied. "That is the reason. Don't tell me you forgot about your sensei already??"

"Is Kakashi-sensei going to be alright?" Sasuke asked smoothly as Chronos and Naruto rejoined the group.

After dispelling the Katana Ude Yuukai and performing a quick check, he felt his pulse was steady, the pupils were at normal dilation, and his skin was of normal color and feel. "It appears so, but we need to get shelter anyways. How far to your place, Tazuna??"

"Not too far at all. We have plenty of room so you can lodge with us for a while."

"Works for me." Chronos replied as he performed a simple Kage Bunshin to carry Kakashi in a fireman's carry while the original grabbed his and Kakashi's pack.


As the group made their way to Tazuna's house, the hunter-nin laid Zabuza's body down and plucked out a surgical kit from his supply pouch.

'I'll just cut the bandages and drain out some of the blood.' He said as he grabbed a pair of shears. Just as he was about to cut, Zabuza awoke and grabbed the masked ninja's arm.

"I'll get that bridge-builder, and then next time, I'll get that other swordsman. It's a matter of pride now."


(A/N): Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews. Keep them coming even if you want to criticize my work. Just keep it constructive. Is this chapter too long??