Greetings again True Believers! Sorry it took so long to post this, but with last few weeks of school winding down, it was hard to find time to write this. But now it is Summer, and I'm free to update even faster than before. But enough about that, 'cause with summer comes a new wave of action for Team 7, as they set out on their newest mission yet. Now, on with the fanfic...

Chapter 5: Disembark to the Land of Waves!

Five Weeks after the Bell Test.

It was another wonderful, sunny day in the village of Konohagakure. While the rest of the village was absorbed in its day-to-day activities, a small brown cat was strolling through the forest on the village outskirts, a small bow tied around its neck. However, the feline was unaware that its movements were being tracked by a pair of eyes hidden behind a crimson visor. By a stroke of luck, Naruto had managed to finally locate the cat with both his enhanced sense of smell and his visor's infrared mode. From his position behind an aging tree, Naruto radioed in find to his teammates. "Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan, target confirmed," he whispered into his COM Link. "What's your status guys?"

"I'm in the tree 20 meters south of your position," Sasuke responded. "What kept you, dobe? I'd already found this thing three minutes ago."

"I had a hard time locating it with my visor. There are a lot of cat-sized heat signatures in this forest, okay?! Geez, Sakura-chan, how about you?"

"I'm behind a bush, a yard or so away from the target," Sakura radioed back. "And quit talking to Sasuke-kun like that Naruto! It's not his fault you couldn't find it."

"Alright team," came Kakashi's voice on all three channels. "You know what to do."

"Roger," they responded. Naruto switched his COM Link off and counted down silently. '3 ...2 ...1 ... Now!' At that moment, all three shinobi leap from their hiding spots and tackled the unsuspecting cat. When the dust settled, Naruto was the one holding the cat, which was attempting to latch onto his face and scratch the living hell out of him. "Target retrieval successful," Sasuke radioed in.

"Excellent job," Kakashi said. "Can you confirm the target's identity? Are you sure it's Tora?"

"Of course it's frickin' Tora! We've only caught this damn cat, what, fifty-five times?!" Naruto yelled over the COM Link. It was at that moment that Tora decided to dig his claws into the flesh of Naruto's forearm. "YEEEE-OW! Someone get this stupid cat off me!!"

Fifteen minutes later, Team 7 reassembled in Sarutobi's Office in Hokage tower, where the Fire Daimyo's wife was picking up Tora. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura stood silently as they waited to receive their next assignment, while Naruto sat cross-legged on the floor, drumming his fingers against one knee in boredom. He'd had it with all these D-Rank assignments! This was about the 75th time they'd been given a low ranking mission and as always, it was to do a menial chore that kids in America usually did on a day-to-day basis.

'Ugh, this is so aggravating!' he thought to himself with a yawn. 'It's been so long since I've had some excitement. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever see action again.'

'Well Kit,' said Kyuubi. 'Not every ninja mission is gonna have excitement or fighting. You've just got to take what they give ya… until you make Chunin or Jounin that is.'

'Yeah, I know. But seriously, even schoolwork back at the Institute wasn't as boring as this is! I'm about to go crazy it's so boring!'

"Alright," said Sarutobi, abruptly snapping Naruto's thoughts back to reality. "Let's see what we've got for your next mission." He then went over a long list of tasks that were all D-Rank assignments, much to Naruto's dismay. The blonde groaned audibly, which was enough to catch Sarutobi's attention. "Is something the matter, Naruto?"

'Uh-oh,' thought Kakashi with a sigh. 'I was afraid he was going to do this at one point or another.'

'What are doing, dobe?' thought Sasuke, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," the young X-Man said, responding to Sarutobi's question. "It's just that, all you've given us so far are these boring D-Rank missions. I wish you'd give us something that's a bit more... challenging, for a change. I mean, you could pay the kid down the street to do crap like this. It's so monotonous."

Just as Iruka, who sat next to the Hokage, was about to berate Naruto for his some-what arrogant tone, Sarutobi silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Alright then Naruto," he said calmly. "From what you've shown on your past assignments, you and your team have proven time and again that you have the capacity to handle a tougher mission." Sarutobi then looked over a C-Rank assignment that he'd recently received. "This will be your first C-Rank mission. You will be escorting a bridge-builder by the name of Tazuna to the Land of Waves, after which you will stay and protect him and his workers from any trouble that may come their way until the time their current project is completed."

The Sandaime Hokage then nodded at a pair of Chunin that stood by the office sliding-doors and they let in a slightly drunken man with graying hair and round-rimmed glasses. He held a sake bottle in one hand. "So, this is the team that's gonna be protecting me eh?" he questioned with a bit of a chuckle. "No offense, but the all look pretty pathetic, especially the one with the whiskers and the fiery lookin' hair (Naruto's hair still had red dyed into the spikes). Ah well, I got a bridge that needs buildin' so let's go."

"Actually Tazuna-san," said Kakashi, "I think it'd be best if we left in the morning. We'll be better prepared for the journey that way." He mentally added, 'Plus you'll be sober then too, making it a lot less difficult for us to protect you.'

"Hmp, whatever you say," was the man's reply. The man then departed for the nearest inn to reserve a room for the night, leaving Team 7 to prep for their journey. As he left Hokage tower, Naruto could barely contain his enthusiasm. This would be his first time outside Konohagakure! Finally, something exciting!

'And there's no better way to celebrate a new mission than at Ichiraku Ramen!' he thought to himself as he headed for his favorite restaurant. Nearing the shop, the wondrous scent of freshly cooked ramen wafting through the air flooded his senses. Pushing aside the curtains, Naruto was surprised to see Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, and Shino seated at the counter. Akamaru barked a greeting as he entered, which alerted the others to his presence.

"Yo Naruto, what's up?" said Kiba cheerfully, patting his friend on the back as he sat down next to them.

"Not much Kiba," he replied. "Oij-sama finally gave us a mission that isn't a D-Rank!"

"Sweet! What'cha gonna be doin'?" As Naruto began to explain what had transpired at Hokage tower a few moments ago, Hinata sat silently next to Kiba, staring longingly at her crush. Ever since the Academy, she'd had feelings for Naruto, and although they'd become good friends, she still felt butterflies in her stomach whenever they were together.

'Why is it so difficult just to talk to him?' she wondered as she watched him eat his order of miso ramen. 'How come I can never find the words to stay when we're together?' Suddenly, she felt a slight twinge of pain flare up in her head. She'd been having headaches for a few weeks now, but each one seemed to grow more intense than the previous.

Naruto noticed Hinata wince in pain and put her hand to her temple. Something was wrong; she'd done that yesterday when he'd dropped off a package from Sandaime at the Hyuuga compound. "Hey, Hinata," he began, "are you feeling alright?"

"Y-y-yes, Naruto-kun," she replied, pretending nothing was wrong. "I-i-it's just a headache is all. N-n-n-nothing to worry about."

"Maybe you should get some rest anyhow, just to be safe," Naruto suggested, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"I-I guess you're right," she agreed remorsefully. She'd really wanted to stay and talk with him some more, but he was probably right. Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru elected to walk her home, seeing as they lived in that direction anyhow. Naruto said goodbye and told Hinata too get well soon, which caused her to blush noticeably. After they'd left, he turned back to his meal.

'Hmmm,' he thought as he ate another bite of miso ramen. 'I wonder what's up with Hinata. It's probably none of my business, but it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on her.'

Just as Naruto reached to take a sip of the tea that Ayame had set out for him, he heard a slight tnk sound. Looking down, he noticed that his glass had suddenly developed a miniscule, hairline crack in it, one that seemed to spider out to all dimensions of the cup. 'Now that's odd,' he thought quizzically.Naruto wasn't a superstitious person, yet something in his gut told him that this new mission of his wasn't something he should take lightly. After he'd finished his meal and paid, Naruto trudged back home to pack for the trip and get a good night's rest. He knew that he'd have to be prepared for whatever tomorrow would hold.

The following morning, Naruto awoke bright and early to double-check his provisions he'd packed the previous night after donning his cyber-visor and civilian attire. Everything seemed to be in place, from the first cup of 'instant' ramen, right down to the last round of signal flares. His bizarre 'premonition' last night had put him somewhat on edge, but he'd remembered that he made his own luck, not the other way around. Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious, especially when on an escort mission.

Seeing as he was already up and ready, he headed out for the village gates and, once there, set his backpack down on a rock and proceeded to wait for the rest of his team. A slight mist hung over the village that morning, making it a bit difficult to see at first; but after a while, Naruto's eyes adjusted. Half an hour later, Sasuke showed up wearing his usual disinterested scowl, Sakura trailing faithfully behind her crush. He greeted them warmly, only to receive the usual "hmp" from the Uchiha.

'I still have no idea what she sees in him,' Naruto thought as he flash-cooked a cup of ramen with his plasma claws, then set about devouring it. An hour later, after he'd finished his ramen and cycled through his iPod's collection of Diana Krall songs at least once, Kakashi finally showed up with Tazuna in tow.

"Well, it looks as though you three are all set," the Copy-nin surmised. "Time to head out."

"All right!!" Naruto exclaimed in excitement, punching the air. "Let's roll!"

"Hey," Tazuna said, pointing at Naruto, "will a kid like this really be capable of handling a mission like this?"

Now that, got Naruto annoyed. Who was this old geezer to question his competence for a mission? He'd been on more possible A-Rank missions with the X-Men than he could count on his fingers and toes! "Hey!" he said sharply, staring at Tazuna with an annoyed expression. "Don't ever underestimate me, you got that? You're looking at an elite shinobi who's gone on more missions abroad than you'd even think, and the future Hokage! The name's Uzumaki-Howlett Naruto, remember it!"

'Naruto,' Sakura thought silently, a vein throbbing on her forehead.

'Idiot,' Sasuke glowered.

"Yeah right," replied Tazuna, taking a swig of sake. "There's no way a kid like you'd ever become Hokage."

"Grrrr. Whatever, ya old geezer. Think what you want, but I will become Hokage, you can count on that for sure." Deciding that further arguing would've been pointless, Naruto dropped the subject for now, and the group continued onward towards their destination. However, none of them noticed the two pairs of eyes that followed them from the trees wherever they went.

Several hours later, the group came up to a bridge that spanned a small river. Upon crossing the bridge, they continued down the path towards the shore, where Tazuna had said a boat was waiting to ferry them over to the Wave Country. They hadn't gone a mile from the bridge when Naruto stopped suddenly. Looking to either side, he sniffed the air warily. Something's scent had caught his nose a second ago, but what it was he couldn't tell. "Hey, dobe, what's the hold up?" called Sasuke over his shoulder as the group continued on ahead.

"Um, it's nothin'," Naruto said, checking over his shoulder as he caught up with them. It was then that he noticed a puddle on the side of the road. He'd been standing a few meters from it when Sasuke'd called out to him. 'That's weird,' he thought, taking a moment to observe his surroundings. 'From the looks of the area, it hasn't rained here in a while. The road's way too dusty to. Something ain't right here.'

Suddenly, as if to confirm his suspicions, a cloaked figure rose menacingly out of the puddle. He wore a camouflage outfit, a tattered black cloak, a clawed gauntlet on his right hand, and a respirator that covered most of his face; the hitaite on his head had pair of horns sprouting from the metal. In one fluid motion, the assassin whipped out a blade-covered chain, which was attached to his gauntlet, and flung it at them with all is might. There was a second assassin linked to the opposite end of the chain! The instant he landed in front of them, he flicked out with his end of the chain and lassoed it around Kakashi, restraining him completely. With a single jerk from either end, the pair shredded Kakashi into a thousand pieces, which rained to the ground in a sickening thud.

"Kakashi-sensei!" shrieked Sakura in horror. The second that she screamed, Naruto was already on the offensive, shedding his backpack as he went to increase his speed. Meizu, the second, younger assassin, noticed the blonde charging at them and swung his end of the blade-chain at him. Naruto swiftly ducked under the blade and rose up to attack, plasma claws scything through the air.

"Eat plasma, camo-freak!" Naruto shouted. In one, swift, upward stroke, he sliced clean through Meizu's respirator and carved a set of five smoking lines into his face. With his respirator gone, Meizu's mouth was clearly visible as he uttered an inhuman cry of pain, groping at his ruined face with his free arm. Naruto grinned in satisfaction and moved to add insult to injury, when suddenly a jolt of incredible pain traveled through his entire body, forcing to his knees. He glanced down at his left arm to see a series of hairline cuts running along his left arm, each oozing with some translucent liquid. 'Damn, the chain's razor-blades were poisoned!' he thought. 'I can feel it startin' to spread through my body!'

'Don't worry about it Kit,' Kyuubi reassured him. 'My healing factor will clear it up in a sec, just hang tough!'

'Easy for you to say, you don't have two incredibly pissed-off mercenaries breathing down your neck at the moment!'

"Die, ya little brat!" roared Meizu, clutching his ruined face as he swung his chain. Gozou, coming to the aid of his injured brother, flicked out his length of the chain as well.

It was at that moment that Sasuke sprang into action, literally. He leapt to one side and flung a shuriken at an open link in the chains. All his shurikenjutsu training as a kid paid off as the throwing star found its mark, fastening the chains securely to a nearby tree trunk. A well-placed kunai knife ensured its stability a second later. "Damn!" Gozou swore, struggling to free his arm. "It won't budge!" Sasuke grinned in satisfaction and flickered away, only to reappear standing atop both assassins' trapped arms. In one swift motion, the Uchiha dropped to grab onto the brother's gloves and lashed out with both feet simultaneously, nailing both of them in the Adam's apple.

The two assassins staggered back, stunned from the blow. Upon quickly recovering, their chains discharged from the gauntlets, freeing them up to launch at two-pronged attack on Tazuna. Naruto attempted to stand and stop them, but he was in no condition to fight until Kyuubi's healing factor had done its job. Suddenly, a blur of motion caught his eye. A moment later, he saw Sasuke reappear in front of Tazuna and Sakura, arms out at either side to protect them. Just as Meizu was about to gut him, Kakashi suddenly appeared out of thin air, Gozou hanging limply under his left arm, and clothes-lined the young assassin. Within seconds, he'd wrapped his arm around the younger brother's windpipe and twisted, snapping his neck like a toothpick. Crack! Meizu's body maintained its hang time for a moment, and then slumped lifelessly in the Jounin's grasp, dead as a doornail.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed in relief at seeing their sensei alive.

"Hey gang, sorry to scare you for a second there," grinned the Copy-nin sheepishly.

'Damn he's fast,' Naruto though as he looked over to where they'd seen Kakashi 'perish'. A pile of hacked up lumber had taken the place of their sensei's supposed remains. 'He'd already performed Kawarimi in half the time we'd taken to blink! I doubt even Quicksilver could've reacted that fast.'

"Good job you guys," Kakashi approved as he set the two assassins down underneath a nearby tree. "Sakura, you did good, protecting Tazuna like that. Sasuke, Naruto, you both handled the situation smoothly."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied, shakily rising to his feet.

'You're in the green, Kit,' Kyuubi said, having finished healing him. 'There's still some poison around the wound's opening, but its nothing you can't cauterize with your claws.'

'Swell,' Naruto returned, before glancing sideways at Sasuke. 'Man, why'd he have to show me up like that? I didn't need his help.'

"Well, now that the crisis at hand is over you've got a lot of explaining to do, Tazuna-san," said Kakashi, turning to face the bridge-builder. "These jokers who attacked us were Chunin from Kirigakure, who specialized in berserker-like assaults. When you hired us, you asked for standard protection, against highwaymen and bandits. You never said that there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, it would've been a B-Rank mission or higher, and we would've staffed and charged accordingly. We were only supposed to protect you until your bridge was finished, not field attacks from enemy ninja. Apparently, you have your reasons for lying to us, but it is still unacceptable. We are far beyond the scope of our mission at this point."

"Kakashi-sensei, this is way too advanced for us as Genin," Sakura reasoned. "We should go back to the village and get Naruto's hand checked out."

"Don't worry about me Sakura-chan," Naruto told her. He materialized his plasma claws on his right hand and swiftly pushed them into the spot where he'd first been cut. The intense energy burned into the wound, both cauterizing it and neutralizing the remaining poison. It hurt like hell, but Naruto fought back his urge to roar in pain, knowing that he'd dealt with worse in the past. "Upon this wound," he proclaimed,"I vow never to be a burden to the mission from here on out. And I'll never have to be saved by Sasuke-teme ever again, believe it!"

"Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"It's okay," he reassured her. "My healing factor already took care of the poison; I'm just sealing the wound so it won't get infected." Sakura was silent for a moment, and then nodded in approval. Naruto then took a length of gauze from his pack and began to wrap up his hand. "Tazuna-san," he said, having finished bandaging his hand, "you may have lied to us, but I aim to finish this mission, no matter what. It takes a lot more than a couple'a clowns in camo PJs to scare me off."

The rest of the group regarded Naruto with silent awe in that moment. He'd just come inches from death, yet he still chose to continue. 'Hmm,' thought Kakashi. 'He mentioned a healing factor, yet so far all we've seen of his mutation are his plasma claws. Could his healing powers be a result of his unity with the Kyuubi?' Deciding it would be best to save this thought until another time, the Copy-nin sighed and turned to face Sakura and Sasuke. "Well, Naruto not withstanding, what do you two think?"

"I'm with the dobe on this one," Sasuke replied calmly, much to everyone's surprise. "If the enemies we'll have to face later on are anything like these weaklings, we can beat them easily."

"Hmm. And what about you Sakura?"

"Well," the pink-haired kunoichi paused for a moment. "Naruto seems to be okay, and if you and Sasuke think we can handle it..."

"Alright, I guess it's settled. We'll continue the mission as planned." With that, Kakashi hid the bodies of the Demon Brothers, Naruto retrieved his backpack, and the group resumed their trek towards the coast. Just as Tazuna made to follow them, he felt Kakashi's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't think you're off the hook just yet," the Jounin whispered. "We'll talk about your deception later." After that, Tazuna didn't hear a word from Kakashi the rest of the journey. Later that night, when they had made it to their designated campsite near the beach, Kakashi decided to ask Naruto a question about his days with the X-Men.

"So, Naruto," he began, "Sandaime-sama tells me that you were made a member of the X-Men's field team when you were eleven. Care to share what life with the X-Men is like?"

"Well, it's a lot different from the Academy in the village, I can tell you that much," replied Naruto in-between bites of instant-ramen. "The Institute's main building is like any typical American prep-school. The classes are mainly the same too; English, math, science, history, drama, P.E. and some other classes that are a lot different. Then there's the Sub-Basement, that's where the students who want to become X-Men train in the Danger Room and stuff like that. But, our missions are probably a lot different from what ninja do."

"How so?" asked Sakura, gaining interest as the blonde spoke.

Naruto smiled, thinking back to some of the missions he'd been a part of with the X-Men. "I can tell you guys, they're a blast! I've been on a lot of really diverse missions in the past, ranging from VIP protection and peace-keeping, to hostage rescues and all-out battles in the most unlikely of places. Usually I got assigned to stuff like crowd control or search-and-rescues, but then there were times when I got to be right in the middle of the action, duking it out with some of the worst villains in the world! Heck, I even got to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. from time to time. Now granted, dad wanted me to be safe and not do anything stupid, but that never really happened. But, it wasn't always easy, I can tell you that. Sometimes it felt as though I was gonna collapse after certain missions."

At this, Team 7 couldn't help but look at him in awe. Even Kakashi and Sasuke were impressed. "So basically," Kakashi said jerking his thumb at Sasuke and Sakura, "while these two were learning the basics of chakra and hand seals, you were being assigned to missions that we'd have reserved for Chunin and Jounin?"

"I guess so," the blonde shrugged nonchalantly, taking another bite of ramen.

"Wow," Sakura marveled.

'Well, that's interesting,' mused Sasuke as he digested what Naruto had told him, along with his food. He had considered asking him more, but he decided against it. Just as he was about to take another bite of his meal, his eyes began to itch again. 'Argh! Damn it! Why does this keep happening?!' he thought as he rubbed at his eyes furiously. Ever since the bell test, Sasuke'd been experiencing frequent headaches, along with a bizarre irritation in the backs of his eyes. At first he though it was just his Sharingan developing, but the symptoms had begun to appear on a regular basis.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Sakura asked him, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I'm fine Sakura-chan," he replied, annoyed at his vulnerability. "My eyes just itch is all."

Naruto, who was seated to Sakura's right, had also noticed Sasuke's irritation. He'd seen Sasuke rub at his eyes like that a few days ago, but this time was different somehow, more intense. 'Hmm,' he thought, poking at a glowing ember with his claws. 'First Hinata's headaches and now Sasuke's itchy eyes. What could be going on here?'

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sakura exclaimed, a look of realization on her face as she bent to rummage through her backpack for something. Her expression changed to one of satisfaction as she produced a small bottle, complete with a dropper attachment at the top. "I picked up these eye-drops for you last night Sasuke-kun. I hope they help with the itching."

Sasuke didn't know how to react at first, but after a moment, he took the bottle from her and carefully applied a drop of the solution to each of his eyes. After a couple of blinks, he noticed that the itching had all but stopped completely; in a few minutes, it would probably even be gone. Sasuke turned and looked at Sakura with an intrigued look. Up until now, he'd only seen her as just another fan girl, but now she seemed... different. She seemed to genuinely care about him, instead of just chase after him haphazardly like the others, simply because he was popular. "Arigatou, Sakura-chan," he said finally, pocketing the eye-drops.

Kakashi watched all of this unfold from his seat on the log parallel to the kids with a feeling of nostalgia tugging at the back of his mind. Seeing the way that Sakura and Sasuke acted together reminded him of the old days, of the friends he'd made so long ago. Especially a certain pair that would always remain a part of him. 'It's like looking into a mirror,' thought the silver-haired Jounin, chuckling mentally as Sasuke resumed his tense composure. 'Well, almost.' He shifted his gaze upwards, watching the fire's smoke as it drifted lazily into the endless sky of stars above them. 'I still can't tell what the future holds, even with this eye. But, I guess that's one of life's greatest mysteries, not knowing. Hmm? Obito?'

The next morning, the group awoke early and set out for a small alcove near the far side of the beach. There they met a friend of Tazuna's who had offered to take them back over to the Land of Waves in his boat. A thick fog had rolled in that morning, making it nearly impossible for the group to see for about ten feet in front of them. For about two-fourths of the trip they used the craft's outboard motor, and then shut it off halfway and switched to using a conventional wooden oar. After an hour and a half of such travel, they were finally able to see the bridge; even though it was far from finished, it was still very impressive. When Sakura asked why they were being so sneaky, Kakashi turned to Tazuna. "Alright Tazuna-san," he said firmly. "Why did you deceive us back there? You must have had a good reason. Either you tell us now, or I'll personally see to it that this mission ends once we reach the Land of Waves."

Tazuna was silent for a moment, then he adjusted his glasses along the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I have no choice but to tell you. No, I want you to know the truth. It's just as you said, this is 'beyond the scope of the original mission'. The one who seeks my life is a very short man, who casts a very long and deadly shadow. I'm sure you've heard his name before; the shipping magnate, Gatou."

"Gatou?" Kakashi interjected. "Of Gatou Transport Inc.? He's a well-known and respected businessman."

"Yes, that's all true indeed," Tazuna continued. "But, below the surface of his corporation, with the same ruthlessness he uses in his business practices, he runs an underworld crime-ring that deals in drug-trafficking and illegal contraband. He's known to employ both ninja and Yakuza to take care of any wetwork he needs done. Exactly one year ago, when he first laid his eyes on the Land of Waves, he used his vast wealth to usurp total control of our transport and shipping. Anyone who opposed him or stood in his way simply, disappeared. In an island nation such as our own, whoever controls the sea controls everything. But there is one thing that Gatou truly fears, and that is the bridge. Once it is completed, it will join us to the mainland and finally break his control over us."

"So that's it," Sakura said after he'd finished. "Since you're this bridge's architect and oversee its construction, you're this guy's only real threat to controlling this island."

"That means that those two jokers we fought yesterday were hired by Gatou as well," Sasuke surmised grimly.

"So if you knew how dangerous this was, why didn't you tell us this back when you first asked for the mission?" Kakashi asked sternly.

"Because, the Land of Waves is a small and impoverished nation," Tazuna said sadly. "Heck, even our nobles have little money. The common people, who're building this bridge, can't pay for an A or B-Ranked mission, as it is far too expensive."

'Grrr,' Naruto growled in his mind, grinding his teeth angrily. He'd been listening to Tazuna's story while perched near the bow of the boat, all of his senses open and scanning for any threats as they went. However, the more he heard about Gatou's cruelty and the plight of the Land of Waves, the angrier he became. 'It's people like this Gatou guy and the Kingpin that really make me wanna forget Xavier-Oij-sama's lectures on human/ mutant equality. This jerk is willing to oppress innocent people, just so he can get richer! If I ever run into this guy..!'

Shaking off his rage, Naruto tapped Kakashi on the shoulder. "Kakashi-sensei, even if Tazuna-san deceived us to get this mission, I really think we should go ahead with the original mission," he said adamantly. "If we've gotten this far, we should at least see this through to the end. That, and I can't stand to sit by and let this Gatou guy run rough-shot over these people like this. It's just not right"

"Yes, Naruto, it's not right," agreed Kakashi calmly. "And while I agree with your suggestion, keep in mind what our mission is here, as well as how severe it may become. Our next opponents won't be Chunin, like those two from yesterday; they'll most likely be Jounin, highly skilled and trained to kill at the drop of a hat. Understood?"

Naruto nodded in compliance. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei. I understand completely."

Fifteen minutes later, their boat neared the end of the bridge and entered a long and dark tunnel. Once inside, Naruto ignited his plasma claws, in order to help their guide better navigate the catacombs. Soon they reached the exit and were greeted with a beautiful blue sky, in sharp contrast to the gloomy mist on the opposite end of the tunnel. After they had landed at one of the nearby docks, they thanked their guide and set out for Tazuna's house, which was located clear on the other side of a dense forest. As they walked through the quiet forest, Naruto kept his senses wide open, sniffing the air every once and a while. Ten minutes later, as the group neared a small lake, he caught a human scent off to his right and held up his hand, signaling everyone else to halt.

A gleaming, serrated hunting dagger popped out from a hidden compartment in his jacket's sleeve. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying into the brush, a satisfying thunk! following a fraction of a second later. Suddenly, Naruto's ears picked up the sound of air being displaced, like a vacuum. At the same time, he noticed that the human scent he'd smelled a second earlier had been replaced with that of an animal. Walking over to the spot were his dagger had landed and parting the bushes, Naruto was greeted by the sight of a frightened, trembling-

"BAKA!" Sakura yelled as she ran over and forcefully shoved him aside. "You acted up over a bunny rabbit of all things?!" She bent down and picked up the shaking rabbit, rocking it back and forth as she cradled it in her arms to calm it down. Luckily for both Naruto and the rabbit, the knife had embedded itself in a tree, just inches above the poor creature's head.

"Quit tryin' t freak me out, ya damn kid!" Tazuna swore, sweat running down his neck like a river.

'Dobe,' thought Sasuke. 'Remind me why he's a member of the X-Men for kami's sake?!'

'Ugh,' Naruto thought, rolling his eyes. He retrieved his dagger and returned it to his sheath. He was about to stand up when the rabbit caught his eye again. Its coat was pure white. 'Hold up. That's a snow rabbit from the North, like the ones up in Alaska. Their coats only turn white in the winter months, when the days are shorter and there's less light out. So why is this thing white when...?' Just then, he noticed Kakashi staring at the rabbit as well. It was in that moment that it clicked: someone had raised this rabbit indoors and away from the light so that it could be used for a kawarimi.

'So, they're already here,' he thought, scanning the area.

All of a sudden, a dense, ominous blanket of mist rolled into the area. Naruto began reflexively curling and uncurling his hands, wanting to bring his plasma claws to bear, but holding off until the real enemy was in sight. Suddenly, a huge sword came flying at them from out of the trees! "Hit the dirt!" he yelled as he ducked to avoid the massive, bladed projectile. The rest of group followed suit and leapt out of the sword's path. It passed harmlessly over their heads and embedded itself into the trunk of a nearby tree. After a moment of silence, the blade's apparent owner flickered into existence, standing on its cumbersome hilt with his back to them.

He was a dark, foreboding figure, garbed in a pair of purple, pinstripe slacks, cow-print cloth braces and leg-warmers, and standard shinobi sandals. His mouth was bandaged from the bridge of his nose all the way down to his shoulders, a Kirigakure no Sato hitai-ite tied around his forehead. It was then that Naruto recognized him; he'd seen his photo in the Konohagakure Bingo Book when he'd downloaded the digital version into Cerebra's files. Only nuke-nin from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist wielded a Kubikiri Hocho (Decapitating Knife) of that size.

"Well, well, well," preened Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mist, from his perch atop his blade. "What do we have here?"

Oh boy! Looks like Team 7 has a new foe to deal with if they want to see their mission through to fruition. Don't tune out yet ladies and gentlemen, the next chapter with be up as soon as possible. So be ready for a one-of-a-kind battle, as Naruto and company show Zabuza just what they're made of. Remember to R&R as you see fit, and stay tuned.