Hi guys, new chapter! This one is going to cover a bit of the plot before the Land of Waves saga. Enjoy!

LAND OF WAVES

Naruto huffed, exhausted. It had been three hours since he and his sensei, Yugao, had decided to take on the hellish task of capturing Tora, the cat who had taken the pleasure of terrorizing many generations of ninjas before him.

His sensei was standing there, unfazed as she watched him try in vain to capture the demon cat. "Hurry it up, Naruto, we have lots of missions to continue!" She exclaimed, her face marred with an expression of annoyance and unrest.

Naruto silently scowled at his sensei's words before trying to apprehend the cat with a renewed sense of vigor. "Rah!" Naruto grunted as he lunged forward, intent on grabbing the cat's tail. With an expert amount of precision, the cat hopped away to the nearest tree bark, almost taunting him with a wag of its brown tail.

Lividly, Naruto shouted in anger before trying once again to capture the evasive feline. This time, it succeeded. "Gotcha!" Naruto exclaimed, smirking evilly at the feline that was now in his hands.

It whimpered all the way to the Mission Office, where her owner crushed her in a hug, thanking the smirking Naruto who had replied with a nonchalant nod of his head.

WITH TEAM 7

Kakashi, Sakura, Sai, and Sasuke had just returned from another uneventful mission within the village walls. In all honesty, the three genin, even Sai, were bored to an ungodly level. Kakashi, of course, did not help one bit, opting to read his unholy, orange-back book.

"Urgh! These missions are so pointless, how am I supposed to get stronger?!" Sakura vocalized to the grey-haired man that was their sensei. With a sigh, the cyclops slapped his book shut and gazed at the young pink-haired genin.

"If you must know, Sakura, the reason why you are doing these missions is because you are still a genin. Essentially, you are the village grunt, along with these two," Kakashi stated, pointing his thumb toward the two raven-haired boys behind them, eliciting a growl from Sasuke. "Of course, as you grow in not only rank but strength, your missions will increase in ranking and pay." He said, concluding the matter before delving right back into his perverted book.

"I guess that makes some sense..." Sasuke said, his eyes narrowed on the approaching form of another team. It was comprised of Yugao Uzuki and her student and his rival, Naruto Uzumaki. It certainly eluded him as to why Naruto was the only genin to be appointed to only one teacher, but he did not let it plague his mind.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sasuke called toward the blonde-haired boy. Immediately, Sakura's head snapped toward the direction of where Sasuke was projecting his voice. There stood Naruto Uzumaki and his sensei, awaiting a mission from none other than the revered village leader.

Her eyes filled with rage and hatred, and she made her way toward the boy's form before being stopped by the firm arm of her sensei. "Stop," Kakashi said seriously as he and his team progressed further toward the Mission Desk. Sakura scowled but relented. "We're here." Kakashi finished as he and his team stood directly behind Naruto and Yugao.

"Well, there's a mission regarding the lawn of Mr. Torune..." The third Hokage trailed off, reciting a seemingly never-ending list of missions. Naruto and Yugao chose a fairly simple mission before making their way out of the Mission Room, or so they thought.

"Hey!" Sasuke shouted towards their leaving forms, causing both of them to turn. "Naruto, it's a surprise to see you even passed the exams, I guess you're better than I gave you credit for." Sasuke insulted with an arrogant smirk.

"Same to you, Uchiha. It seems Sakura also passed. Must've been a fluke." Naruto undermined them with an unreadable look on his face. Sasuke and Sakura both scowled at his dismissal of both of their skills.

"Enough.." Kakashi said, refocusing his team's attention on the matter at hand. "Let's get a mission." He continued, beckoning his team to come forward. They did.

YUGAO AND NARUTO

"What was that all about?" Yugao asked her protege, to which the blonde merely shook his head and responded.

"I don't know, they always try and get under my skin and it always backfires. I believe they have what is called an inferiority complex." He finished soundly, much to the amusement of his purple-haired sensei.

"Alright, Naruto. Let's get on with this mission, shall we?" She asked, to which Naruto responded, and they took off.

WITH TEAM 7

"Let's see here, gardening, fencing, feeding the Inuzuka dogs...what do you say, Team 7?" Hiruzen asked, lighting his pipe.

"Whatever you say is fine by me, Lord Hokage..." Kakashi exchanged, earning a smile from his superior. "I think my team feels differently, though."

Sakura and Sasuke were on the verge of a meltdown. Regardless of the reasoning Kakashi had given them about the importance of low-ranking missions, they could not help but think that these missions were grunt work and not suited for them.

"With all due respect, Lord Hokage, wouldn't a C-rank mission be better suited for us?" Sai asked the wizened leader what both of his other teammates were thinking, earning a rare smile from the two.

"Sai, Sasuke, Sakura." Hiruzen addressed. "You three are all brilliant, outstanding genin." They blushed at the praise. "But wouldn't a C-rank mission be too much for such a green group?" He concluded quizically, waiting for their response.

"No, I believe we are all suited and capable for a C-rank mission, Lord Third." Sasuke said, eliciting a nod from both of his teammates.

"I second that statement," Kakashi said, finally ripping his face from the perverted book to come to his genins' aid. "They are all very talented, and I would rather avoid their constant nagging." He concluded before delving back into the orange, hard-cover book.

"Well, I suppose I can do it, this one time..." Hiruzen said, shifting through files upon files. The genins were elated. Hell, even Sai was jubilant.

"Alright, Team 7, I have a mission for you. It involves a bridge builder from the Land of Waves known as Tazuna. He is requesting protection on his trek to his homeland. Do you all agree to take this mission?" He asked, waiting for their answers.

"Yes, Lord Third." Sasuke said, reserved but visually elated. The same message was reciprocated by Sai.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura exclaimed, resisting the urge to pump her fist.

"Language, Sakura." Kakashi and Hiruzen both warned sternly, eliciting an embarrassed apology from the pink-haired gening.

"Well, I guess it's time to get going. Pack up, we're heading to the Land of Waves!" Kakashi finalized, allowing his genin to run off towards the exit of the mission room.

Pretty short chapter, I know, but it's really late and I wanna get some sleep. The next chapter will be encompassing the Land of Waves saga and yes, Naruto and Yugao will be involved.