A/N: I won't have the speech that Naruto gives when he stabs his hand because I don't really like it ok? Chapter updated!

C-ranked mission… or was it A?

"What the, are you kidding me? These are the so-called ninja's you expect to protect me? Just a bunch of snot-nosed brats." The man lifts the bottle of sake and glugs it down.

"And you, the shorty with the funny marks on your face, are you seriously the one who's gonna protect me?"

"Hey! I may be short, but I can kick your ass in a second!"

"You?! Ha! You couldn't even beat my grandson!"

"Hey, I am a ninja ya know."

The man takes another drink, sighs, and looks at them. "I'm Tazuna, the bridge builder. I need to get back to The Land of Waves so I can make a bridge that will change the lives of our people and I expect to get there safe and sound even if it costs you your lives."

Naruto finally calms down and turns away from Tazuna with his arms crossed. "Fine we'll protect you but you better not underestimate me."

(Time skip)

The group are still walking on the road. The weather is clear and the forest around the road is quiet… perhaps too quiet.

"Mr Tazuna?" Sakura says.

"What is it?" replied Tazuna.

"Well you're from The Land of Waves, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Kakashi-sensei, are there ninjas there?"

"No." Kakashi replied. "The small island has no need for protection because they are protected by the sea. Don't worry, Sakura, we don't have to worry about any ninjas attacking us on a C-ranked mission." But out of the corner of his eye Kakashi saw that Tazuna had started to sweat.

After a while as they walked, Kakashi noticed a puddle. Hmm, strange, it has been clear for the past few days. But the group walked past it.

Naruto tensed as he sensed a chakra flare and whipped around in time to see two masked ninjas with a chain between them jump out of the puddle he saw earlier.

Since Naruto was the last person, Naruto was right in the firing line of the serrated chain the ninjas wrapped it around him first.

By now the others had turned around and quick as a flash, Kakashi's two shadow clones he made earlier dragged the two ninjas to their waist into the ground. Unfortunately, the two ninjas were also clones and they disappeared soon after.

"Where are they?" Sakura stutters from fright.

Then the ninjas charge again but this time aiming for Sakura.

Sakura freezes and the ninjas smile but out of no where a shurikan rams into the middle of the chain and embeds itself into a tree, with a kunai following to stop it from coming loose.

Sasuke saved me. Sakura cheered.

Sasuke jumps up and kicks the two ninjas in the face, causing the chain to break. The ninjas spread out, one aiming for Naruto and the other towards Tazuna.

Naruto, seeing the ninja charge Tazuna, tries to reach them but he forgot about the ninja going for him and narrowly dodges a swipe from him. He felt a burning pain on his hand and sees the wound from the claws of the ninja that had scratched him with poison.

Damn it. He thought. I've got to heal it before- Naruto suddenly saw that the ninja going towards Tazuna came to an abrupt stop when Kakashi's arm held his neck causing him to be knocked out and then grabbing the ninja in front of Naruto too.

The burning became stronger so Naruto used his chakra to heal it. He breathed a sigh of relief as the pain subsided. He looked up to see Kakashi tying up the ninjas to a tree.

The two had woken up and asked, "Ho-how did you know of our ambush?"

"A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in days is a pretty good giveaway to me." He replied, then turned to Naruto, "Are you ok? Sorry I didn't help you earlier."

"It's ok, I've healed it." He replied.

Ah, that's right, he can heal instantly with his chakra. But I still shouldn't have let him get hurt. It was careless of me. Kakashi thought. He turned to Tazuna.

"These ninja came specially to kill one of us, do you know if it was you?"

"…"

"Tazuna!"

"Ok, you see, the bridge I will build will break the control of a man called Gato, you've heard of him. He took interest in our little village and took over our transport and shipping. Anyone who stood in his way simply vanished."

"Tazuna, if ninjas will attack you, this is meant to be a B-ranked mission. You didn't say anything about ninjas so this was classified as a C-ranked mission. Why?"

"I couldn't pay for a B-ranked mission, I'm very poor, and I'm all the villagers hope. But it doesn't matter if a ninja kills me. My daughter will just hate you all forever; my grandson will cry 'Grandpa, grandpa!! Why did you die??!!' and all of the villagers will hate the Konoha Shinobi till the end of them." Tazuna replied in a nonchalant voice.

All three twitched.

"Ok, we'll still protect you, but you will have to pay for it when you can."

"Thank you."

(Time Skip)

Suddenly through the fog the half completed bridge looms into sight. Cranes and scaffolding cover the surface.

"We're approaching the shore." The man steering the boat says.

They enter a tunnel and soon the only light was at the end of the tunnel. Once they emerge they find a clear area of water surrounded on the sides with small houses. The group step onto the wharf. The boat drives off.

"Ok, take me to my home in one piece." Tazuna said.

"Alright." Kakashi replied. The next ninja Gato sends won't be chunin, but jonin, elite ninja with deadly skills. Hmm.

They start to walk on a dirt road again surrounded by trees. Naruto keeps alert with his specialised hearing and suddenly he hears a whooshing sound. Small enough for the others not to hear but since Naruto was actually a fox with very good hearing he heard it.

"Duck!" he screams to the others and they all hit the ground as a very large guillotine-like sword spirals over them. (A/N: The next part is all made up)

"Ah, so it is the boy who rescued his companions… for a few seconds."

The group look up to see a half-shirtless man with bandages covering his head standing on his big sword embedded into a tree.

Kakashi gasped. "Zabuza Momochi!" he said menacingly.

The man chuckles. "Ah, it's so nice to know I'm famous!"

"You're in my Bingo book, said that you were a rogue ninja from The Village Hidden in the Mist." He replied casually, but inside he was shouting curses. Damn it, why did it have to be him, if he gets past me, my team and the bridge builder are as good as dead. I'll have to finish him off quickly.

"Let me at him." Naruto said.

"No Naruto, not this time, he's a jonin like me, and very deadly. Guard the bridge builder, all of you, I'm fighting him alone."

Zabuza looked at the boy who shouted and instantly recognised the markings on his face when they were taught about the Nine-Tailed Fox and its son. He chuckles again.

"Well, I'd never thought I'd see the day where I meet the Nine-Tailed Fox's son." He says.

Zabuza turns towards some bushes. "Haku, come and meet it. You always said you hated demons with a passion. Here's the chance to kill one."

Beside Zabuza suddenly appeared a boy, around the same age as Naruto, wearing a mask with red markings on it. The boy takes the mask off. "I guess I won't need a mask anymore." He said. He turns to Naruto.

"You are the Kyuubi's son? I want to fight you alone." He said in a dark tone. The reason he hated demons so much was because the Two-Tailed Cat had killed him entire clan, leaving him the only one with their kekkei genkei.

A/N: I kinda liked it. This chapter has been updated after my 15th chapter. Some bits HAVE been modified and different from the original. Enjoy!