So, yeah. Between work, my mental health, and bereavement, this chapter has taken a bit longer than I expected, but I hope you enjoy it.


Naruto crouched in the undergrowth, and tried to control his breathing. Their target was insanely good at evasion for someone who wasn't a shinobi. It was taking all Naruto's rapidly-increasing sensor skills to keep track of them, and the effort was giving him a headache.

It was paying off though. The target was less than ten metres away, and had no idea of his presence. Silent as a shadow, Naruto tapped his radio.

"I have a sighting," he breathed. "Are you in position?"

"I'm ready."

"Yes."

"On three then," Naruto whispered. "One, two, three!"

He launched himself from the bushes, wires ready in his hand. The target screeched and turned to flee, but Sakura had dropped behind it, and with Sasuke approaching from the side it had nowhere to go.

That didn't stop it from trying to shred Naruto's arms when he grabbed it. Naruto pinned the claws to its body with an effort, and glared at his teammates.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate this stupid cat?"

"At least it didn't get your face," said Sakura waspishly.

Naruto have her a sheepish smile. The scratches on her cheek had all but vanished now, but Sakura had been sulking all week. Sasuke just grunted and set off in the direction of the Academy.

"Let's just hand him in so we can get on with training."

Naruto sighed, but quickened his pace to catch up with his teammate. Sakura fell in at his other side.

"I've got a couple more genjutsu I'd like to try," she said. "Kakashi-sensei said I should start trying more complex ones now that we've got the basics down."

Naruto grinned at her. "And it'll be good for us to learn how to deal with them."

Sakura nodded, and her smile only widened when Sasuke indicated his agreement. Naruto hefted Tora more securely in his arms. This team was working out even better than he had expected.

Admittedly, their actual missions had been a disappointment, and Naruto now understood his guardians' comments about chores and D-ranks a whole lot better, but the afternoons they spent training together more than made up for the tedium of catching cats and peeling vegetables. Naruto had finally got the hang of the Shinranshin no Jutsu, and when combined with Sakura's genjutsu and Sasuke's growing array of Katon jutsu Naruto was confident that they could at least provide a challenge for any opponent.

They still couldn't so much as touch Kakashi, but that was all right. Their sensei was one of the strongest shinobi in the village, and for all his famed laziness he wasn't a bad teacher. He always told them where they had improved, and what they still need to work on, and was surprisingly good at turning even tree walking and water walking chakra control exercises into something that tested even Sakura. Naruto suspected Shikaku had had a word with him about taking his new duties seriously.

Still, Naruto had to admit that it would be nice to get a proper mission soon. There were only so many times one could get excited about catching a cat.

A snort from Sakura broke Naruto from his thoughts, and he looked up in time to see his teammate wave.

"Nice look, Ino," she called. "I didn't know green was your colour."

Naruto looked, and burst out laughing. Ino whirled on Shikamaru. "You told me I'd got it all off!"

Shikamaru was even more liberally flecked with paint, and just yawned. "Must have missed it."

Ino snarled something under her breath, and turned to the still snickering Sakura. "Glad to see you looking so well, Sakura," she said sweetly. "I see you finally triumphed over that vicious beast. Oh, silly me, of course it was no match for a trained shinobi. Did you manage to avoid the deadly claws this time?"

Sakura's smirk vanished, and Naruto winced at the ensuing screeching. Tora approved even less, and Naruto stumbled as the cat made another bid for freedom. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and shoved him towards the door.

"Let's get this done so we can find Kakashi."

Naruto pulled a face. Kakashi had got the idea that it would be good practice for them to track him down each day, rather than him joining them like a normal person. It was better than waiting hours for him to show up though, so they hadn't grumbled too much. Their current record stood at one hour and thirty three minutes, but that was still quicker than waiting for the jōnin to turn up would have been.

So Naruto was surprised when they entered the tower and found Kakashi leaning against the wall talking quietly with Team Ten's sensei. Kakashi raised a hand without looking at them, and Naruto shoved Tora at his gushing owner and detoured round the still bickering girls to join him.

"What's up, Kakashi-sensei?"

The rest of his team crowded round, but it was Asuma who spoke. "Ah, we've just been comparing mission results. Seeing if you might be ready for something a little more challenging-"

"Yes! No more D-ranks!"

"Ow, Ino-nē," Naruto groaned, rubbing his ear. "Besides, we got back first, so we're going to get our first C-rank first."

Ino smirked. "That's what you think."

With a cheeky grin, she tore off up the stairs. Naruto growled and started after her, only to find himself stuck fast. "What the- Let me go, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Sorry, Naruto. You know how troublesome she would have been otherwise."

"Hey," Sakura snapped. "We're not losing out to you lot!"

She made a handsign, and Shikamaru stumbled back with a yelp.

"Guys, Ino's already at the desk," said Chōji wearily.

Naruto kicked at a pebble, and his scowl darkened when Kakashi patted his head. "Nice try though," the jōnin yawned. "You're getting quicker, Sakura."

Naruto ducked away from him. "Where's Sasuke?"

Shikamaru sighed, and started trudging up the stairs after his teammate. "He went after Ino while you were yelling at me."

Kakashi's eye crinkled. "Always mission-focused."

Sakura scowled, and grabbed Naruto's sleeve. "Come on. Let's see if he caught her."

Naruto was disappointed, but not particularly surprised to find Sasuke standing just behind Ino in front of the mission desk. Iruka had a hand over his face, but the Sandaime's eyes were sparkling.

"Ah, the enthusiasm of youth," he said. "Just what we like to see."

Kakashi's eye twitched. Asuma covered a grin with a cough. Sasuke's scowl darkened, and the Hokage cleared his throat.

"It is good to see not one, but two genin teams with such determination to prove themselves. Normally we would wait until teams have had some time to come together before assigning higher-rank missions."

Naruto perked up. The Sandaime caught his eye and smiled. "However, your jōnin sensei have assured me that both teams are already capable of performing at the required standard. Therefore, I am assigning you your first C-rank missions."

"Yes!" Naruto cheered. He reached over to high-five Ino. "Told you we'd do it in less than a month."

"Our parents were the only ones who ever doubted it," Shikamaru pointed out grumpily.

Ino rolled her eyes. "You're just annoyed 'cause you can't laze around any more."

"Team Ten," said Iruka loudly, and Naruto wrenched his attention back to his sensei before Sakura hit him, "will be taking a bodyguard mission to the Land of Waves."

"Who will we be guarding?" Chōji asked.

"I bet it's someone really important," said Ino, pulling a face at Naruto.

Five minutes later, and Naruto and Sakura were the ones grinning as Team Ten trailed their grumpy client out the building. The Hokage raised an eyebrow and Naruto wiped the smile from his face and straightened his shoulders.

"Team Seven," the old man said, "will be forming part of the escort detail for a trade convoy to the Land of Water."

Naruto frowned. "Part of the escort detail?"

Iruka glanced at the mission scroll. "They have a number of regular guards as well," he explained. "But a shinobi presence carries more weight." He handed the scroll to Kakashi and fixed the genin with the glare they were all very familiar with. "Remember, you are representing Konoha to citizens of both Fire and Water. Are you sure you're ready?"

"We won't let you down, Iruka-sensei," Sakura promised.

"Believe it," said Naruto firmly. He nudged Sasuke. "Right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but jerked his head in a nod. Kakashi tucked the scroll away in his vest, bowed to the Hokage, and began ushering his team from the room. "Maa, they'll be just fine."

Naruto was almost bouncing as he followed his team out. They had their first C-rank mission, and it was a good one. He couldn't wait to get started.

"Of course," said Kakashi, as they stepped out into the fresh air, "as representatives of Konoha, you will have to be very careful not to embarrass yourselves."

All three genin tensed, and exchanged wary looks.

"We're not going to embarrass ourselves," said Sakura indignantly. "We're ready, you said so yourself!"

"For the mission, yes," Kakashi agreed. "But suppose you're guarding your client, and your concentration slips, and you fall out of a tree…"

"That only happened once!" Naruto protested. "I've got it now."

It was small consolation that Sasuke had gone equally red. Sakura was trying and failing not to look smug, but Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Naruto sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. Then he paused. "Race you, Sasuke!"

He took off, and almost immediately felt Sasuke's chakra blaze behind him and grinned. Training was much more bearable with friends.

Naruto didn't actually mind their chakra control lessons. Inoichi and Shikaku had been helping him with his control for years, but it just wasn't something that came naturally. It took a lot for him to run out of energy; he had the power for all sorts of jutsu, and he could fight hand to hand for hours, but the amount of chakra he wasted could be a liability on difficult and extended missions.

Naruto altered his course for the trees as soon as he reached their usual training ground. Sasuke took the tree next to him, chakra flickering as he tried to control his own massive amounts of power, while Sakura set to running laps with distinctly less enthusiasm. She had the opposite problem to Naruto and Sasuke; her control was perfect and none of her chakra was wasted, but even with that she simply didn't have the stamina to keep going for long.

The bark cracked under Naruto's foot, and he hit the ground with a grunt and bounced back up again. He would work this out. He would complete his first C-rank mission.

It was one more step on his road to becoming Hokage.


Later that evening, with his pack prepared and every weapon he owned checked and double-checked, Naruto sat down for his last home-cooked meal for what would be a few weeks at least. Everything was delicious, as always, but his stomach was churning with too many nerves to eat much, and from the looks of Ino's barely touched plate she was in the same state. Inoichi took one look at the pair of them and shook his head, a fond smile playing about his lips.

"Ah well, it happens to everyone."

"Even you?" Naruto asked.

Inoichi laughed. "Oh, yes. Shikaku too. Not Chōza though, I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear."

The very thought was enough to make Naruto smile. Ino giggled. "I bet Chōji is just fine too." She poked at a piece of fish. "Tou-chan?"

"Yes, Ino?"

Ino hesitated, but took the plunge. "Did...did you have to kill anyone on your first mission?"

That was enough to squash the remnants of Naruto's appetite. Inoichi's smile faded, and he set down his chopsticks with a sigh. "We were born in a different time," he said softly. "The Second Ninja War was still being fought when we graduated."

Naruto stared down at his plate. He had known about his guardian's history, but it was still difficult to imagine. Inoichi sighed again, and Naruto looked back in time to see him rub a hand over his face.

"We are shinobi," he said. "Death is always a possibility, even on a low risk C-rank mission. I...hope that neither of you will experience it so soon, but..."

"I get it," said Ino softly.

She slipped from her chair, and Inoichi caught her into a hug. Naruto hesitated only a second before joining them, and the warmth of his family's chakra helped settle his stomach. Inoichi held them tight for a long moment, before drawing back and looking each of them in the eye in turn.

"You are both fine shinobi. Trust in yourselves, and in your teams, and know that whatever happens, I will always be proud of you."

Naruto let out a shaky breath. Anything might happen in the future, but this, his family, would never change. Ino's hand found his, and Inoichi gripped his shoulder, and Naruto's nerves settled for the first time in hours.

He would make his family proud.

The rest of the meal passed with all of them determined to stay light-hearted, but Naruto was still on edge as he made his way up to his bedroom. He went through his pack for the fourteenth time, and decided he couldn't go wrong with a few more explosive tags. As much as Naruto loved the Yamanaka techniques they weren't much good for dealing damage directly. He could rely on Sasuke and his array of Fire Style jutsu, that was how they had trained so far, but anything could happen on a mission, and if they did happen to get separated then Naruto was determined not to be an easy target.

Besides, drawing seals was nearly as good for calming him down as tending the bonsais was. Naruto had had to beg Inoichi to teach him, and he still only knew the basics, but it was something he was interested in learning further, once he had improved his taijutsu, and the Yamanaka skills, and an elemental style, and his stealth, and something that would give him an edge in combat…

A small laugh bubbled up. He had a lot to learn, but if he was ever going to become Hokage then he would have to master all that and a lot more.

For now practicing his seals definitely wouldn't hurt, but Naruto had just dug out his seal paper and best ink brush when there was a sudden pressure at his temple, as if someone had flicked him in the head. A flare of chakra confirmed his suspicions.

"It's open."

Ino slipped inside, and shut the door silently behind her. Inoichi wasn't nearly as strict as Yoshino, but he did expect them to get a sensible amount of sleep before an important mission. Ino dropped onto the floor next to him, and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have enough of those already?"

"Can't be too careful," said Naruto, with a shrug.

He started to trace the first characters, and after watching for a minute Ino grabbed his second best brush and followed suit. Her characters were perfect, but she hadn't practiced as much as Naruto had and was only a third of the way through when Naruto set his completed tag to the side and started on a second.

"You'd better be careful out there."

Naruto blinked up, then grinned. "And here I was gonna charge right into the first fight I saw."

Ino flicked ink at him, and he held up his hands. "C'mon, I'm not that stupid. I'll be fine. I'll have Sasuke and Sakura, and nothing's gonna get past Kakashi-sensei."

"It better not," said Ino grimly. "Keep an eye on Sakura. She's good, but she's not as strong as you."

"She's my teammate, of course I'm gonna look out for her." He glanced up. "And Sasuke too."

A faint blush touched Ino's cheeks. "Shut up."

Naruto's grin widened, but as fun as it was to tease Ino about her crush this wasn't the time. He waited until she lifted her brush from the paper before nudging her. "We'll be fine. It's a C-rank, and we'll have Kakashi. I bet we'll even beat you home."

"No way," Ino shot back. "By the time your team stops bickering we'll be done and laughing."

"Hey," Naruto protested. "They've got a lot better."

Ino raised an eyebrow, and Naruto didn't need to sense her emotions to read the scepticism. He finished his second tag, and poked her with the end of the brush. "They have. Just wait til the chūnin exams, and we'll prove it."

"Sure," said Ino. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Despite that she leaned into him. She drew the final line with her usual precision, and placed the tag with Naruto's. "Be careful."

Naruto wrapped an arm around her in a quick hug. "Always am." Ino snorted out a laugh, and Naruto smiled. "You too."

Ino nodded. She hugged him tight for a minute, then stood up. "Sleep well, Naru."


"You're late!"

Naruto rubbed his ear. "You don't have to yell every time," he complained. "It's not like it's a surprise."

Sakura scowled at him, but Sasuke cut them both off with a snort. "Let's just go," he snapped. "We've wasted enough time."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Always so impatient," he said mournfully.

Naruto grinned and tilted his head back to bask in the sun. He could sense the warm flicker of his family's chakra moving steadily in the direction of the Land of Waves. He and Ino had said their goodbyes earlier, both refusing to show any of their bubbling nerves, and even now Naruto took his concern and breathed it out. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chōji knew exactly what they were doing, they had Asuma-sensei, and they were going to be fine. All Naruto could do was focus on his own mission.

"Ready, Naruto?"

Naruto pulled his attention back to find his team watching him. He hefted his pack more comfortably and grinned. "You bet!"

Kakashi's eyes flickered over the three of them, then crinkled into a smile. "Maybe you are," he agreed. "Or not," he added, before any of them could get excited. "We'll see."

"Why are you like this, sensei?" Sakura asked. Then she ducked away when Kakashi ruffled her hair. "Sensei!"

"You're all so adorable," said Kakashi, and they could hear the smile in his voice. "Have any of you been outside the village before?"

All three of them shook their heads. Konoha was big enough that Naruto had never felt constrained, especially with access to the Nara Forest, but he couldn't wait to see what the world outside was like. Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Be nice to the civilians. You never know when they might want to hire a shinobi. Be polite to other ninja too."

"So if they do turn out to be enemies they won't be expecting an attack?" said Naruto brightly.

Sakura rolled her eyes, then blinked when Kakashi nodded. "Sensei?"

"There's no point making enemies unnecessarily," said Kakashi, and Naruto had to cover his grin when he looked pointedly at Sasuke. The other boy looked away with a huff, but not before Naruto saw the light blush dusting his cheeks. Kakashi smiled, and tilted his head back to look at the forest.

"Now, who feels capable of some tree-running?"

"Yes!" Naruto cheered.

He'd been wanting to learn it for years, but for some reason Inoichi hadn't been very keen on that idea. Sasuke's eyes gleamed, and Sakura brightened. She had been annoyed by how much more chakra both Naruto and Sasuke had than her, but her superior control would be good for this. Kakashi chuckled.

"Then lets get going." He flickered out of sight, and reappeared on a tree above their heads. "Last one to the campsite gets to cook."

"We don't even know where the campsite will be," Sakura protested, but Kakashi had vanished.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a single look, then ran for the tree. Sakura yelped and dashed after them, and Naruto had to laugh.

This was his first proper mission, and he couldn't wait to get started.


Sleeping outside the village was weird.

Naruto had been camping before, of course. Shikaku had given them free range of the Nara forest, and Naruto had spent many nights camping out with Ino, Shikamaru, and Chōji, both with and without their parents. They had practiced basic survival skills and had fun, and Naruto had never felt anything but perfectly safe.

Travelling outside the village was different. There were no walls, no patrols, no jōnin and chūnin forces to back them up. No ANBU and no Hokage. No parents.

It wasn't scary exactly, Naruto had been training for this his whole life, but it was different. Standing watch in particular was stressful. Staying awake was easy enough, Inoichi and the others had trained them to stay awake and alert when they needed to, but the unfamiliar noises and environment made far more stressful than he had expected.

Knowing that his teammates' safety depended on him didn't help. Kakashi had showed them how to set traps all around their campsite, both mechanical and genjutsu, and he would wake the moment anything did happen, but Naruto knew he had to take his responsibility seriously. One day he wouldn't have a jōnin sensei to cover his mistakes. Better learn now than when he really might put his team in danger.

It would be easier to concentrate if Sasuke wasn't having nightmares.

They were quiet nightmares. Even fast asleep, Sasuke wasn't one for unnecessary noise. He was constantly twitching and turning though, and in the orange firelight Naruto could see beads of sweat forming on his face.

Sasuke would want him to ignore it. Sasuke was proud and strong and private and there was nothing he hated more than being pitied, but Naruto hadn't been raised to stand by and watch his friends suffer. He took a moment to make sure neither Kakashi nor Sakura had been disturbed, then knelt next to Sasuke and laid a hand on his shoulder.

Sasuke slashed up with a kunai even before he opened his eyes, but Naruto had expected that and he caught the blow easily.

"Hey, it's just me. You were having a nightmare."

He kept his voice low, and Sasuke stilled. He shot a quick look round, chest heaving, but his shoulders slumped when he saw the other half of their team fast asleep. Naruto sat back on his heels, and watched Sasuke rub shaking hands over his face.

"Thanks."

It was quiet but genuine, and Naruto nodded. "Any time."

He ached to ask if there was anything he could do to help, but Naruto had learned a long time ago that what worked with Ino and Chōji did not necessarily work with Sasuke. Instead Naruto sat back and stared at the fire and listened to Sasuke's breathing gradually even out and projected as much calm and approachability as he could.

"It was him."

Once again Sasuke's voice was barely above a whisper. He didn't look at Naruto. "It's always him."

Naruto nodded. There was nothing he could say, and so he didn't say anything, but Sasuke kept talking.

"He spoke to me. That night. He told me I wasn't worth killing." He looked up, dark eyes glowing in the firelight. "I am going to kill him."

"Not alone," said Naruto quietly. "Me and Sakura and Kakashi-sensei will help."

He didn't break a promise, and he didn't forgive anyone who hurt his friends, and it didn't matter if that person was one of the most dangerous shinobi in the world. The man who had killed Sasuke's family would pay, and Team Seven would do it together.

Of course it might help if they knew more about who that person was. Naruto hesitated, but it was just him and this was the most open Sasuke had ever been, and it was worth a try.

"Will you tell me his name?"

Sasuke was quiet for long enough that Naruto thought he had gone too far, but just as Naruto was on the point of apologising and offering to leave him alone he straightened.

"Itachi. Uchiha Itachi." He hesitated for a moment. "My brother."

Naruto forgot to breathe. He had known about the Massacre, a bit anyway, but that Sasuke's brother was the one responsible…

Sasuke was trembling again, and Naruto wrenched his own horror under control.

"We'll find him," he whispered. "And when we've beaten him, you can kill him."

Sasuke drew in a long shuddering breath. He held Naruto's gaze a minute longer, then gave a firm nod, and lay back down with his back to his fire. Naruto remained where he was, listening closely and stretching out his chakra, and only eased himself up when he was sure Sasuke was asleep again.

Naruto had grown up knowing he was going to kill people. It wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to, but it was something a shinobi had to do.

Killing Uchiha Itachi would be more than a duty.

"Good work there."

Naruto had a shuriken in his hand before Kakashi's voice registered. His sensei hadn't moved, but his visible eye was open and looking straight at him. Naruto forced his racing heart rate back under control, and slumped down next to him.

"You could have helped."

Kakashi yawned. "You had it handled. Besides, he needs to learn to rely on his team."

Naruto pulled a face. Sasuke was getting better, but he still had a long way to go before he stopped trying to solve all his problems by himself. Kakashi chuckled, and eased himself to one elbow. "Get some rest, Naruto. I'll take the rest of the watch."

Naruto wanted to argue, but he was tired and it had been a long day, and so he just nodded. He wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and shuffled close to the fire, and reached out with his senses one more time. His teammates burned all around him; the tightly controlled storm that was Kakashi, Sasuke's steady blaze, Sakura's faint but harmonious hum, and finally slept knowing his team was safe.


It took another four days for them to reach their destination.

Kakashi didn't waste the time. Naruto and Sasuke had finally managed to perfect the tree-walking exercises before they left Konoha, but a good chunk of their path ran alongside a river, and they had all been able to guess what was coming. Sakura was the only one who didn't end up completely soaked on that first day, but by the time they travelled away from the river both Naruto and Sasuke were able to run and fight on the water as easily as on dry land.

Other skills were more difficult to practice on the move, but hunting was good target practice and Sakura was keen to learn the genjutsu that Kakashi set up around their camps. They continued to spar in the evenings, and though Naruto missed Ino and Inoichi being out with his team was a lot of fun.

Sasuke didn't have nightmares every night, but often enough. Each time Naruto would wake him and sit watching the fire until he fell asleep again. Neither of them spoke about it, but Sasuke was slightly less stiff around Naruto during the day.

Sakura was another matter, but she had toned down the fangirl tendencies a lot, and beating her idol in all the chakra control exercises had spurred her on to focus on her training. Kakashi had given her a few more genjutsu to learn, and it was almost scary how quickly she was perfecting them.

Still, but the time they spotted the little trader town where they were meeting the caravan, all of them were more than ready for the real mission to begin.

"Well, Naruto," Kakashi murmured, as they made their way down the hill. "Anything interesting down there."

It wasn't the first time he had done that during down the trip, and Naruto stretched out his chakra.

"There are twenty-three people," he said. "I think they're nervous."

Kakashi hummed. "It's a dangerous world."

"That's why we're here," said Sakura. "It's two weeks to Kiri, and we won't let anything happen to them."

Sasuke said nothing, but Naruto could feel the steady burn of his resolve. They wouldn't fail the people who were relying on them.

Then Naruto felt something else, two spots that burned brighter to his senses, and he held up a hand.

"Wait. There are two shinobi down there."

Sasuke tensed, and Sakura let out a faint squeak. Neither asked if he was sure. There was no mistaking the trained chakra coils of a shinobi from the dim glow of the civilians.

"Anything else?" Kakashi asked.

He sounded as bored as ever, but Naruto could sense him and he was as focused as Naruto had ever seen him. Naruto concentrated as hard as he could, ignoring the faint headache that was starting to build up.

"They're not doing anything," he reported. "They're standing with the civilians, and they're not doing anything with their chakra." He opened his eyes, and rubbed at his temples with a grimace. "I don't know what they're there for."

Kakashi remained leaning against the tree. "Well then, my little students. Our clients are down there. So are two foreign shinobi. How should we proceed?"

"We need to be ready for an attack," said Sakura immediately. "In the Academy they taught us to be particularly careful when encountering foreign shinobi while on missions." She paused. "And I'm sure missions that involve fighting with shinobi from another village are automatically classed as A-rank."

"Quite correct," said Kakashi. "And if we do end up fighting them then the mission rank will be adjusted." His eyes flickered towards Naruto and Sasuke. "Any other thoughts?"

Naruto scratched his head. "They didn't feel like they were going to attack," he said. "But I don't know if they know we're here yet."

Sensor types were rare, and it was even more difficult over long distances, but Naruto wasn't experienced enough to determine exact abilities and skillsets yet. Sasuke folded his arms.

"We still have a job to do," he said. "We know they're there and we can be ready for an attack, but standing around here is pointless."

Kakashi's eyes crinkled, and he reached out to ruffle Sasuke's hair. He only smiled brighter when Sasuke swatted him away with a scowl. "All very good points. Stay alert, but we're not looking for a fight."

Sasuke have a curt nod, and set off down the hill. Sakura hurried after him, and Naruto touched the kunai in his pouch and followed suit.

They attracted looks as soon as they got to the camp. Kakashi led the way, seemingly oblivious to the stares, and the three genin stuck close behind him. Being known and acknowledged in Konoha was one thing, but none of them were enjoying being sized up by the people they had been contracted to protect.

None of them dared show it though. Shinobi were feared, but they were only twelve. They had to prove themselves.

Sakura's elbow landed in Naruto's ribs, and he looked up to see a tall man in a large hat standing talking to two teenagers. One had white hair, the other blue, but Naruto was more interested in the swords both had strapped to their backs, and the Kiri headbands they wore. They both looked up as the Konoha nin approached, and the one with white hair pushed his way forward.

"What the hell are you lot doing here?"

Sasuke stiffened, but before he could say anything the other Kiri nin caught his comrade's arm.

"Wait, Suigetsu," he said. "We're not here to fight."

Naruto took note of that, and Kakashi held up the mission scroll. "Konoha has been hired to protect this caravan on its journey."

"No way," Suigetsu snarled. "That's our mission!" He whirled on his partner. "Oi, Chōjūrō, you're supposed to be in charge, tell them to fuck off."

Sakura twitched, cheeks flushing, and Sasuke's lip curled, but Kakashi's eye remained on Chōjūrō. The boy shrank back under that steady gaze, but stood his ground. "It is true that we have been tasked with escorting Ranji-dono's caravan to Kirigakure. We are capable of carrying out that mission."

Sasuke gave a faint huff, but Naruto kept his focus on his sensor skills. Both Kiri nin were older and more experienced than they were, even if they weren't a match for Kakashi. A fight was the last thing they needed.

"I'm sure," said Kakashi lightly. "But we have accepted a contract from Ishido-dono, and Konoha does not renege on its contracts."

Chōjūrō glanced at the man they had been talking with, who was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Ranji-dono's business partner," the man explained. "You'd think after four years they would have learned to trust one another." He let his hand fall to his side, and stepped back. "I'll leave this to you to sort out. I don't care who protects this caravan, so long as someone does."

He stalked away without waiting for a reply. Suigetsu snorted. "Idiots. Well, we're not going anywhere, and if you think we're going to share our pay with you-"

"Why would we want you to?" Sasuke demanded. "We can handle this by ourselves."

"The matter of pay is irrelevant," said Chōjūrō. Both Suigetsu and Sasuke opened their mouths to argue, but the older boy didn't give them a chance to interrupt. "Ishido-dono is paying you. Ranji-dono is paying us. These people will be safer with all of us here."

Kakashi's eye crinkled. Naruto brightened. "So if we both stay we're basically doing half the work for the same pay."

That sounded pretty cool. Chōjūrō nodded shyly, and Kakashi straightened from his slouch. "It's fine by us."

Chōjūrō let out a relieved breath. He glanced back at Suigetsu, who snorted. "You're such a pushover," he muttered. "Whatever. Just stay out of our way."

He stormed off towards the caravans without waiting for a reply. Sasuke folded his arms, a dark scowl on his face, and Chōjūrō winced.

"He is learning," Chōjūrō mumbled. "Please excuse me."

He sketched a quick bow, and hurried after his teammate. Sasuke continued to glare after them, and Sakura looked up at Kakashi. "Are you sure about this, sensei?"

Kakashi shrugged one shoulder, and reached into his pocket for a book. "We aren't at war with Kiri, and in this case cooperating works to our benefit. Besides, it will be good for you to observe foreign shinobi at work." He paused, and looked at three of them. "Kiri is emerging from a period of civil war. Accurate information about the current leadership and organisation would be of great interest to Hokage-sama."

Naruto nodded. He had heard Inoichi and the others talk about that. Now he wished he had paid more attention. Kakashi flipped his book open. "Keep your eyes open, and be friendly. Let them see you for the cute little genin that you are."

Sasuke looked pained by the thought. Naruto elbowed him in the ribs. "C'mon, it'll be fun." He summoned the wide-eyed innocent smile that still earned him extra sweets from the Akimichi. "Let's go and watch them spar! I've never seen kenjutsu specialists fight, they must be really good!"

Sakura giggled, and Sasuke rolled his eyes so hard he ran the risk of straining something. Naruto let the act drop, and grinned. "They have no idea who we are and what we can do."

Sasuke didn't look entirely convinced, but Naruto had known him long enough to see his bad mood receding. Kakashi reached down to ruffle Naruto's hair.

"That's the spirit. Now run along and find where we'll be staying. And keep your eyes open." He glanced up from his book. "The Kiri nin aren't the only threats out here."

Far away from the highly guarded caravan, sharp golden eyes swept over a report, and then compared it to another. Lips curved into a smile.

"Little Sasuke and Suigetsu on the same mission. How interesting."

And what an interesting opportunity. Neither had come anywhere close to meeting their true potential, but if they were going to be in the same place at the same time, well.

There was no harm in taking a little look.


Thanks for reading! Any feedback would be appreciated.