"This is the best Konoha has to offer?" demanded the old man as the team entered the room where he had been waiting for them. He'd been waiting for days now, waiting for one of the Leaf's elite to take on his mission. He had, of course, expected someone tall, powerful, brimming with the sort of energy that the shinobi were known for. Instead, standing before him was a woman, which he might have at least tolerated considering he knew some of the ninja were female, and quite formidable at that, but the others were children. None of them looked to be even teenagers yet, and they still carried themselves with that soft reassurance that came from youth that had not been lost to the harsh world yet.

"Probably not, but they are among the best Genin in the village. I'm sure you've seen them around lately, if you've been staying in town," commented the red eyed woman, and the old man was about to launch into a tirade about how children this young should still be on their mother's apron strings, when he stopped and thought back. Over the last three days, since he'd come into town, there had been kids about their age around. Always the same ten, and doing everything imaginable. He'd even asked one of the locals about it, and called them the Konoha Thirteen, saying they took on more missions in days than most adults did in a month.

"So they can fix a house or catch a cat, so what? Does that really make them qualified as guards?" asked the old man finally, and the kids seemed to be taken aback, one of them snapping his fingers in rapid succession. When the others responded, save the silver haired boy in the back, he figured that one had to be the leader, only for the tall boy with sunglasses to step forward.

"Sir, we are prepared to prove ourselves to you, if you have some objective that could be completed with ease within these walls," said the boy, and Tazuna nodded at him. This was the attitude he liked to see, and taking a moment to stroke his chin, he snapped his own finger and reached into his sack, pulling out a long rod of metal.

"I came here to compare some Wave Country steel to the product of your Fire Nation stock. It does indeed compare favorably, but it's still just metal. Ninja, or so I'm told, can break stuff like this with just their bare hands. Do that, and I'll admit you're able to do guard duty," he offered, figuring the kids would give up, and then he could get a team of real ninja to guard him. Instead, they resumed their snapping, before turning to the silver haired boy, who stepped forward.

"Does it have to shatter, or just get cut?" asked the boy, who purple eyes seemed to shine with excitement, in a way that honestly worried Tazuna, but he let it slide off his mind as he held it between his fists.

"Either way, I'll be sat-WHAT THE HELL!?" the formally calm man didn't even finish his statement, instead the boy slashed with one hand, his fingers glowing at the tips with shining, white light. Then the rod fell, pieces of it clattering to the stone floor at his feet, with five smooth cuts in it, dividing it cleanly into seven pieces. Jumping back, the bridge builder stared at the kid, who just stood there, his face now impassive, as he seemed to nonchalantly lean down and pick up the pieces, before presenting them to the older man.

"This...this was good steel," he said at last as he inspected the bits. He'd been intending on showing his apprentices what real steel was like, the stuff they could get from the forges in Wave Country being less than ideal specimens. He'd tested it himself, and knew his best tools would have taken a few minutes to cut the piece, and not only had this boy made five incisions, but each was cleaner, with smoothed ends, than he could have ever hoped to do.

"Will there be any farther objections?" asked the tallest boy, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as the other boy resumed his place at the rear of their formation. Tazuna, looking at the bits of metal in his hand, back to the kids, and then back to the bits, idly shook his head as he put the pieces in his pack.

"I am Tazuna, Master Bridge Builder, and I humbly apologize for doubting your skills," he said at last, his normally crotchety attitude still subdued by what he'd just seen.

"I am Shino, to my left is Hinata, to my right Naruto, and Heero you have already met. The apology is unnecessary though, our age makes others underestimate us as well, but we promise, as long as we breathe, no harm shall come to you," said the taller boy, motioning to each as he spoke, and they bowed in turn. Tazuna, in respect, bowed back, and then shouldered his pack again. Each of the children copied his motion, and then they set out to the village gate. The trek through town saw many smiling faces, all waving at the children as they passed, one young boy from a flower shop even coming out to give the white eyed girl, Hinata, a flower, before blushing furiously and running off. Smiling at this turn of events, the old man soon fell into the middle of the formation, striding beside the woman he knew as Kurenai from the shinobi at the Tower desk, as they came in sight of the gate.

"Your group is the last to leave, I see," said an old man in a wide brimmed hat that Tazuna recognized as the local ruler, the Kage. Still shouldering the pack on his back, he couldn't bow as deeply as he would have liked to this powerful shinobi, but the others seemed to make up for it, the children nearly folding themselves in half in reverence for the old man.

"That was my fault, Hokage. I made the mistake of doubting the skill of your young ninja. Not something I plan on repeating," responded the civilian, and the old ninja smiled at him in response.

"An honest answer, and one I hope many others repeat, as underestimating a ninja gives that ninja power over you. Now, I have business at the Tower, but as the groups before you, I wish all of you luck, and swift journey," said the Hokage before starting off into the village, several shadows at his back that just sort of materialized out of the darkness, the ANBU guarding their rulers. Once he was out of sight, the gate guards easily let the small group through admitting them onto the open road. The dusty trail, covered with the wheel ruts and footprints of a million who had gone before, was gentle on them this day, the sun shining overhead allowing the small group to by a few miles out in only a handful of hours. This was the point when Hinata clicked her fingers once, and the others in her group, even Tazuna, were instantly alert.

"Sensei, sixty-five meters ahead, two ninja are using a genjutsu to conceal themselves. They're right on the road, and since you said this path was not used often, I must assume they are here for us," whispered Hinata, her vision focusing like a lighthouse beacon straight ahead, staring at the pair. Kurenai, who lacked her student's vision thought on this for a moment, considering the words coming out of the bug on her collar, when Shino's voice spoke up.

"Naruto, prepare a chakra pulse, small focus, straight at the pair. Hinata, you and I will disable them while they are stunned from the pulse. Sensei, if you will signal Heero, have him protect Tazuna," said the boy's calm, even tone, and instantly the group began to follow his direction, Naurto changing his stance midstride, still walking forward, but his hunched over body starting to look a little blurry as he gathered the charka in his abdomen. Seeing no reason to doubt the plan, Kurenai did a set of three quick handsigns, not jutsu, but close to it, and Heero, who had been waiting for the instruction, walked a little faster, coming forward, and then putting his hand on Tazuna's wrist, causing the old man to want to pull away, but finding the boy's grip just a bit too strong, and the look in his eyes told the old man not to move too much as they continued on their way.

"Naruto, release at ten meters. Hinata prepare to signal," ordered Shino, and the others didn't make a single motion as they kept walking forward, the entire group trying to look like they were just normal. They kept their pace the same, and only Heero's altered position would have told anyone something had changed, something the pair of ninja, who turned out to be in an illusion of a puddle, didn't notice. So it was that the group got within the ten meters.

"Now!" said Hinata emphatically.

"Chakra pulse!" cried out Naruto almost in the same instant, the light blue wave of lifeforce washing over the group, and then slamming hard into the genjutsu of the two ninja ahead, their eyes unfocusing, as their thoughts were jumbled around, causing them to sway on their feet. The instant the wave had passed, the other two Genin rushed forward at the pair, as Heero pulled Tazuna close.

"Armor of the Tortoise!" he shouted, and suddenly a dome of black chakra surrounded himself and Tazuna, protecting them, just in case there was more to this ambush than there seemed, as Hinata and Shino slammed hard into their targets. The two men, covered with armor of their own, and having a chain strung between them, were still too disoriented to defend themselves as the Hyuga and the Aburame struck. The former's fingers glowed slightly blue, and she launched into a series of devastating strikes, her finger tips seemingly only slightly pushing against her foe, but each touch caused his body to jolt and spasm, as his joints locked up and then went numb. Shino's attack was similarly unimpressive, his hand reaching out, and his sleeve bulging as he touched the man, but instantly a whole swarm of his kikai spewed forth from his body, covering the head and shoulders of the man he'd attacked.

Normally, the two ninjas, known as the Demon Brothers, might have recovered from this attack, using their synchronized strikes to push back the younger shinobi and then counter them. This strike took less than ten heartbeats though, and neither of the two recovered in time, as the kunoicihi's touch disabled one, and the bugs from Shino did the other in. Shino's bugs were, of course, used to his expanded chakra capacity, almost at the level of the elders of his clan thanks to his training with Naruto and the others from the Academy. As such, they took only a few moments to deplete the other man's body of the energy, leaving both men crumbled heaps on the forest floor, awake, aware, but unable to move as the older kunoichi stepped forward, her eyes red with hate for them.

"Explain yourselves," was all she said to the pair, the larger of the two staring contemptuously back at her as the bugs that had covered him slowly marched back into Shino's jacket. He even tried to spit at her, but his weakened body allowed him little power behind the motion, and so all he really achieved was a line of drool running down his chin, causing Kurenai to growl as a wave of killing intent poured from her. A single hand seal and her eyes glowed brightly even with the sun high overhead. That light seemed to cover the brothers faces, the elder's eyes rolling back in his head as he passed out, while the younger's body began to shake.

"Good, you, explain yourself," she commanded, leaning down so her face was right over his. He seemed to let out a wordless scream as his twitching, but nearly immobile form tried to scoot away, getting barely an inch before he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by the kunoichi, and then slammed hard into a nearby tree with a single hand.

"Now!" she demanded.

"ZabuzaorderedustokillthebridgebuilderhewastoldtodosobyGatowhodoesn'twanthimtofinishbuildingthebridgeandandendinghisruleoverthelandofwavesDON'TKILLME!" said the man in a single quick breath. Kurenai, looking into his face intently, as if trying to suss out if he was somehow lying to her, then just sighed, and with another hand seal she caused her eyes to stop glowing, the one in her grip being let go to fall to the ground as she turned from Demon Brothers to where Heero and Tazuna were still being protected by the young boy's Armor.

"Heero, drop it, I want to talk with Tazuna now," she said, and the boy did so instantly, the black chakra dome dropping, before he stepped away to stand with his squad, and watch as she approached the older man.

"You said bandits in your request. Simple, every day bandits, did you not?" she asked the man, who backed up as she came closer to him, despite him being almost half a foot taller than her.

"Now listen here, I-urk," he had seemed about to say something more to her when she did something to cause her eyes to glow again, this time subtly, like the embers of a stoked fire, just waiting to consume his soul.

"You said just bandits, not ninja. Were you aware that if you had mentioned them, we wouldn't have sent a Genin team on this job? That if we had known about this we would have raised the rank of the request to at least a B, if not an A, considering the one he mentioned, Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist, is an A Ranked Missing-Nin from the Kiri," she demanded this while putting her hand on his shoulder, and without effort pushed him down to his knees, so now Tazuna was looking up into her bright red eyes.

"I...I couldn't...I wouldn't...I was desperate...I...we couldn't afford anything else! I'm sorry, but we used all the money we had just getting me here. I barely had enough to a C-Ranked mission, and even that seemed to be a good graces sort of thing, according to the man at the desk. I couldn't go home without someone to protect me though. If I did that, they'd just...they'd just kill me," he said this while going even lower, his own guilt over the lie he'd had to tell flooding his brain, and causing him to bow into the dirt towards the woman before him. Tears could be seen in the corners of his eyes as he rose to a sitting position then, and just stared up at her. For a long, silent moment, she regarded him as she would a rat, her gaze going over him slowly, before she turned back towards her students.

"All of you, grab the two who attacked us and follow me. We're going back to the village," she said, and turned on her heels, about to walk away. Before she got even a single step, she felt a heavy weight grab her robe, causing her to stop and turn towards where Tazuna had a death grip on her.

"Please! I'm not kidding! If I return alone, they're just kill me! They'll kill everyone in Wave!" he declared to her, and she, her eyes still burning, contemptuously tugged her robe out from his hands and began to walk away again, leaving the man a sobbing wreck on the ground. She only stopped, a half a dozen paces, when she failed to hear the sound of other footstep behind her. Stopping mid stride, she turned her head, to find her students, instead of grabbing the prisoners, to be helping Tazuna to his feet.

"That was not a suggestion. That was an order," she told them simply.

"It's a bad order then, Onee," said Naruto as he pulled a bit of cloth from a pouch on his waist, allowing Tazuna to blow his nose into it, and then clean his face up a bit, before handing it back.

"I would normally be against disobeying an order from my leaders, but in this case, it would involve leaving an innocent to die, and that would violate my morals all the same," declared Shino, and Kurenai allowed the burning red eye's illusion to drop away as she walked back towards them.

"This scum lied to the village. If we were any other Genin team, one of you could have died in this ambush, only a few miles from the village, and then we would have had to return with someone dead, and it would have been his fault. Does that sound innocent to you?" she demanded, and Shino seemed to consider her words for a moment, before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"And for that, we should demand future concessions from him and his land. For now though, he needs help, for a situation that sounds like it is not his fault. We would be remiss if we simply allowed him to go home, only to die," countered Shino simply.

"This Gato the ninja mentioned, he's a shipping magnate. His wealth is on par with a hidden village. How many mercenaries does he have, and how many ninja besides you two?" asked the woman, kicking the shinobi she'd been questioning. The man grunted something unintelligible in response, and Tazuna stepped forward.

"He has an army in mercenaries, mostly toughs with swords. When we tried to fight them, there was at least one for every five people in my village, and I know that wasn't all their forces. Only four shinobi though. We figured it was just all he needed," admitted the old man, and Kurenai nodded.

"So well over a thousand then?" she asked, and the man nodded silently.

"So, one thousand civilians, and two remaining shinobi. Long odds, but not indomitable," responded Shino, and Kurenai stared at him, before running her fingers through her hair and growling in frustration.

"We're you listening?! Even if we defeat everyone he has, his bankroll could buy him even more!" she shouted at them.

"Unlikely. If he could afford more shinobi of a rank equal to Zabuza, he would have done so before now. A single ninja is worth a hundred regular soldiers, isn't that what we're always taught?" asked the boy, his eyes staring into her from behind his glasses, and his teammates nodded with him.

"True enough, especially where you and your class were concerned, but even so, this mission has just become a lot more dangerous," she told them, her tone evening out as she spoke.

"We are Shinobi of the Leaf. Whatever mission we take, be it assassination or simply rebuilding a shed, there is always danger. That should not deter us from our path," quoted Hinata as she stood beside Shino, the other three standing tall beside her. Looking into each face, seeing the determination that only youth could really bring, Kurenai just stared back, before finally shaking her head and sighing.

"I must be crazy," she said to herself at last, before suddenly pulling a kunai out from somewhere, and pointing it at Tazuna.

"You and I will talk, once the bridge is completed, on how you plan to repay the Leaf for the lies you told us. For now though, as my team wishes to go on, we shall. Know that I hold you as responsible as Zabuza if one of them is hurt, however," she informed him, and the old man, his eyes now dry, just nodded solemnly, before she turned from him, and back towards the Demon Brothers.

"You two will stay here, until one of you is well enough to walk, then you will aid your brother and go to the gates of Konoha. There, you shall request that you be remanded to the custody of Ibiki. Is that understood?" she asked, her eyes flashing as she made a series of quick hand seals. The genjutsu was easy to place, as the pair were both still mentally and physically exhausted from having their chakra drained or blocked. Neither could resist the command, and just nodded. With that matter dealt with, Kurenai shouldered her back, and motioned for everyone to follow her on the journey to the Land of Waves.