Chapter 37: The Caravan

Border of Fire Country

Haku let out a breath as she folded the last sheet of the tent. She then placed it on top of a scroll and channeled her chakra. The folded-down tent disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She smiled. The former wondering shinobi still had difficulty believing Naruto could make something like this.

Back when she was still traveling with Zabuza if they wanted a scroll like this, they would have to pay a lot of money or steal it. "I see that you're all packed," Kakashi said.

Haku turned her head, seeing her sensei standing over her. That was something else she was getting used to. Haku now had a sensei.

Or, in her case, another sensei. Zabuza had always looked after her and taught her the ways of the Shinobi. Now, someone else was filling that role.

"Just about," Haku replied to the silver-haired Jōnin. She rolled up the scroll and placed it inside a pack. "These scrolls Naruto made are useful."

Kakashi nodded. "That I can see," he said. "I've quite a bit from the other Jōnin Sensei. From what I've heard, his storage scrolls are better than those you can get at a store or the supply depots."

"That I can believe," Haku replied. "That boy seems to have many talents. He's even told he's looking into ways of appealing his seals on the field. Namely in a fight."

Kakashi nodded. "A shinobi should have as many tools in his arsenal as he can afford," he said. "That way, if something fails, he has something else to use."

"Zabuza taught me something similar," Haku replied. She pulled the pack over her back and stood up. "It's why I don't solely rely on my genkai kekkei. "Said it made us a more useful tool."

Haku saw a dark look passing over her sensei's face for a second before it was gone. "Maybe I should ask if he would be willing to make me a few," he said. "I would be willing to pay for them or some other compensation."

Haku nodded. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that," she said. "I think he's quite eager to meet you."

For just a second, she saw a look of surprise mixed with excitement on the man's face. But it was gone so quickly that Haku decided it was her imagination. "He is, is he?" he asked.

"Yakumo and I told him about you," Haku explained. "He would really like to meet you."

Kakashi hummed and nodded his head. "I'll take that into consideration," he replied. "But until we have a mission to complete. I assume the others are ready as well?"

"They are," Haku replied. "Just waiting for your instruction."

Kakashi nodded. "Good," he said. "The Caravan is still getting ready to leave, so we might have some time for training today. After that, we can try to scout ahead while Sara-San stays behind."

Haku nodded. "If I remember correctly, we should be crossing the border soon," she said.

"At the pace we've been keeping, I say should in the next country before the sun reaches its peak," he explained. "After that, if we can keep it up, we should be able to reach the Land of Honey in two or three days."

Haku nodded, agreeing with the assessment. "I'll pass it along to the others," she replied. "Anything else?"

Kakashi gave her an eye smile. "You might want to take care of your little shadow," he said. Then, it was gone in a swirl of leaves.

Haku smiled and shook her head. Then she turned around to face the little figure trying to hide behind a nearby crate. "You can come out now," she said, getting a tiny squeak from the child. "I know you're there—both of you."

A moment later, two boys emerged from behind the crate: Daisuke and Akito. The former looked rather flushed after being caught, and the latter had a perpetual smile.

The two boys walk up to Haku. "H-how did you know we were there?" Daisuke asked. "I thought we pretty good at hiding."

"And how did that man disappear?" Akito asked with an excited gleam in his eyes. The younger boy smiled from ear to ear. "It was so cool. Can you show us how to do it?"

Haku chortled and smiled at the boys. "Well, I am a Shinobi, so you can't hide from me," she answered Daisuke's question. "And for how my sensei disappeared like that. That's a very special shinobi technique, and I'm afraid I can't show it to you."

Akito had a disappointed look on his face. It was like watching the sun dim. "Aawww, but I want to know," he said dejectedly. But then he immediately brightens back up. "But what about that thing you just did with the tent? Where did that go? What was with the scroll?"

Daisuke crossed his arms with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I'm wondering about that, too," he said. "What was that, some kind of shinobi magic? What was it called again, ninjutsu of something?"

Haku suppressed a low laugh and brought the scroll in question out. "Something like that," she answered, showing the boys the scroll. "Except it's called ninjutsu, and this is a little different. What happened is I sealed the tent inside of this scroll."

"Sealed?" Daisuke asked. He got a nod from Haku. "Like the tent is inside of the scroll, but how? It's just a piece of paper with some fancy lines on it?" He would have gone off on the boy if Naruto had heard that. Haku had learned that there were three things that one did not do around Naruto. 1.) Never insult or threaten his friends. (Especially if it was Hinata) 2.) Insulted Fūinjutsu as an art. 3.) Said anything bad about ramen.

Thankfully, Naruto wasn't here, and Haku was more objective. "But this a special kind of scroll," Haku said warmly. "We can put stuff in it through things we call seals. As you know, this scroll here has a tent and supplies it. I have a few other scrolls with different things, like clothes, food, and tools."

Both boys had amazed looks on their faces. "Wow, that's so cool," Daisuke said. Akito, next to him, nodded his head. "And you can make something like that?"

Haku chuckled. It was amazing how civilians could be awe-stricken by what Shinobi took for granted. Perhaps she might have shown the same look of amazement as these kids in another life.

"I'm afraid not," Haku answered Daisuke's question. "This sort of thing is not my specialty. But I have a friend who can do this, and this is one of his creations."

"Your friend sounds amazing," Akito said.

Now, that was something Haku could agree with. Daisuke huffed, uncrossing his arms. "He can't be as cool as me," he said, sounding a tad jealous.

Haku smiled and had a devious idea: Naruto was rubbing off on her. "You're lucky he's not here to hear you say that," she replied.

Daisuke looked at her warily. "Why's that?" he asks.

Haku's smile grew, and she got a nervous gulp from the redhead. "Because he'll take your eyes," she said like it was the most normal thing in the world. "He's got quite the collection now. I'm sure he would love to add to it."

Daisuke paled while Akito tilted his head to the side, apparently not getting it. "Y-your joke?" He asked. "Right? R-right?"

Haku just kept smiling at him, causing the boy to squirm. Then she started to laugh. "I'm just kidding you." She said with a broad smile.

Daisuke let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good," he said, slumping his back forward. "I'm not sure how I can handle someone who could take eyes walking around."

"Oh, no, he does have the ability," Haku said. "He uses them to see around. He just only takes from bad people."

The redhead was looking at her again. "You're joking again?" He asked.

Haku chuckles and starts to look for her teammates. "Just follow me, and I'll explain it. Don't worry, he's a good guy, I'm sure the two of you would like him. He's the reason why I'm here now."

Pass

"Looks like we got a nice juicy target," a man said.

"I see about ten carts moving," his partner said. They hid in a tree line overlooking a pass where the Caravan was moving through. "The two or three look like they are mostly for the merchants to ride in. The rest, though, should be packed. We got a good haul here."

The first man's eyes narrowed as he saw one of the people walking alongside a cart. "Hang on, it looks like they got some protection," he said. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and focused in on the figure. In particular, he saw the headband on the man's head. "Shit, it looks like they hired some shinobi, have a look."

He tosses the binoculars over to his partner. "Looks like you're," he said. "Konoha-Nin by the looks of it. It looks like a full squad, with Jōnin and three Genin. Hold on. It looks like they might have a Chunin with them as well. They must have rolled out the cash to get protection like this."

"So, we got a Jōnin, a Chunin, and three genin, five in total," the first man summed up. "Do you recognize the Jōnin or Chunin?"

The second man frowned. "Not right off the bat," he responded. "But that Jōnin seems familiar to me. Something about that silver hair is giving him away. I think he might be in the bingo books."

The first man nodded. "Come on," he said, moving away from his position. "We need to tell the boss about this. The Genin should be easy to deal with, and the Chunin can be dealt with. But for the Jōnin, we're going to need some extra help. The boss himself might have to step in."

The two men left, never having been noticed by the Caravan and their escort.

"So, can that really see through all of those eyes?" Minoru asked with a bewildered look.

Yakumo nodded. "He can," she confirmed. "Even though they're just floating around in the air, he can see through them all."

"Well, I'll be," Minoru rubbed the side of his head. "And you say he has hundreds of these things just floating around? Could he even be watching us now?" The man looked unsettled by the idea.

"He can't see us all the way out here," Yakumo explained to assure the man. "His eyes can only go so far before he loses connection with them." They didn't have concrete numbers, but Yakumo knew that last Naruto had checked it between one and two kilometers and was working on increasing the range.

That seemed to calm the man down a bit. "That's relief," he said. "I'm not sure how I would sleep knowing someone could be watching me."

"Besides, it's not like any of it could be true," a voice in the back of the cart called out. Yakumo turned her head and looked into the cart. She saw a man around Minoru's age with red hair looking back at her and the others with a smirk. Daisuke's dad, Taisuke. "I mean, come on, floating eyeballs that a little kid can see through. I've heard some wild things, but that has to be near the top."

Next to him, his son gave him a confused look. "But aren't they Shinobi?" he asked. "They can do all sorts of things. Like early, we were watching" spying, "them train, and one of the girls created these ice mirrors out of thin air."

Taisuke snorted. "Sure, she did," he said. "Shinobi do a lot of weird things. But that doesn't mean they can see through floating eyeballs or summon monsters."

Yakumo was tempted to demonstrate what a shinobi could do but restrained herself. "Maybe the next time you visit Konoha, I can introduce you. Then perhaps you can see for yourself what we shinobi can do."

The man shrugged and went back to whatever he was doing earlier. "Shinobi, a bunch of weirdos," he muttered, not knowing Yakumo and the other shinobi could still hear him. "At least we got some pretty ones. Aren't I right, Daisuke?"

Daisuke blushed and smiled. "Yeah, we did," he agreed.

Yakumo shook her head and looked back at the road as she rode in the front of the cart. Next to her, Minoru smiled at her. "Don't mind Taisuke," he said. "He's something of a skeptic; he never believes anything he hears until he sees it."

"And you're not?" Yakumo asked. "Even I must admit that some things we can do are weird and seemingly impossible."

The man shrugged. "As a traveling merchant, I've seen a lot of things and places. And one thing I know for sure is that the world is full of weird and unexplainable stuff. So, who to say what you shinobi can or cannot do? Hell, there might even be someone out there who can control the moon or something."

Walking by the Caravan, Haku giggled. "That might be stretching it," she said. "But the world is full of mysteries. We might even get to see some on our mission."

Yakumo nodded. "Still, I would like to prove what I'm saying is true," she said, crossing her arms and looking at the red-haired man in the back of the cart. "The Futogan is something to see."

From the corner of her eyes, Yakumo saw a bit of red hair appearing. "If it means anything to you," Daisuke said with a wide smile. "I believe you. Your friend sounds cool. Sure, the eye thing seems a little creepy."

"That's one way of putting it," Yakumo heard Minoru muttering under his breath.

"But he sounds like a nice guy," Daisuke continued. "All of you Shinobi are so cool with your ninjutsu and stuff."

Yakumo smiled. "For someone who's grown up in a caravan, you seem awfully obsessed with shinobi," she pointed out. "I thought you would be more interested in what merchants do."

Daisuke shrugged. "Lots of kids are interested in shinobi," he said. "If you think I'm obsessed, you must see Akito. He practically adores them. He even wants to be one someday."

Now, that was something to hear. In Konoha, it was common to find kids wanting to be shinobi. There was a reason why the academy existed. But outside Konoha and other hidden villages, she thought it would be different. "He does?"

Daisuke just waved his hand off. "Hard to believe I know," he said with a grin. "I can't really picture it myself."

Yakumo faked a frown. "Why not?" She asked.

"Just look at him," Daisuke said. "He's a sunflower, not a cold-blooded killer." Then he scratched his reddening checks. "Or at least that's how my dad puts it. But I can't see him doing everything you guys can. He's so small and scrawny."

Yakumo smiled at the red-haired boy. "But he might not stay small forever," she said with a pointed finger. "He might grow to be big and strong."

Yakumo pictured it in her mind: the little blonde boy suddenly growing several feet tall and gaining a muscle-bond body. The head, however, remained the same. So, she had this mental image of an eight-year-old's head on the body of a muscle builder, smiling and flexing.

Daisuke must have had the same mental image as he stared at Yakumo. Then, the two broke into smiles and laughed. "Okay, now that's one mental image I didn't think I needed today," Daisuke said between laughs. "Oh man, every time I look at him, I won't get that out of my head."

"Yeah, it is going to be hard to get that out of my head, too," Yakumo admitted.

In her mind, a voice whispered. "Yippy, more stuff to torment me with," the shadow said bitterly. "I thought it was agreed that I was supposed to be the one to torment you."

Yakumo restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Shut up," she told the demon. "It can't be any worse than what you did to me."

She heard a dry laugh in her head. "Honey, I've seen some of the things that get through your head when you see two guys getting friendly with each other, especially with Naruto and that boy toy of yours. Some of that is something I wouldn't even touch. The fact that you put any of it to a canvas and your friends want copies disturbs me."

Yakumo turned red and was ready to get into a mental shouting match with the shadow when a voice broke her concentration. "Hey, are you okay?" Daisuke asked. "Your face just turned all red. You're not coming down with something, are you?"

Yakumo could feel her burning up even more. In the back of her mind, she could hear cackling. "No, no, it's nothing," she said, waving her hands. "I was just thinking…" she trailed off. "Something embarrassing, that's all."

Daisuke tilted his head to the side, looking at her curiously. Next to her, Minoru was giving her a side eye, and she could feel Haku's gaze boring into her back. "What was it." The redhead asked. "Must have been something really bad if it's got you this red in the face."

"Nothing I would want to tell you about," Yakumo huffed.

Daisuke looked at her for a second longer. Then he lets out a breath and smiles. "You're a weird girl," he said. Yakumo felt a vein pulsing in the side of her head. "But I think that makes you cute." And once again, the redness returned.

"Daisuke, I told you before, be careful with the weird ones," Taisuke called to his son. "You never know what they're thinking. Or what they might do to you."

Yakumo rolled her eyes and saw that Daisuke was still smiling at her. "I don't know, Dad, this one might be okay," he told his father. "She certainly is a cute one. What do you say you want to try a date? See what happens?"

Yakumo shook her head, giggling to herself. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I think I'll have to decline," she said. "I'm flattered, but I'm a bit old for you, and plus," she blushed a little. "I'm already spoken for."

Daisuke had a default look on his face. "Aww sucks to be me then," he said. "Must be a lucky guy."

"Very lucky," Haku added in.

Daisuke leaned over and looked at Haku. "I don't suppose you're available," he asked.

Haku shook her head. "Not interested in a relationship right now," she answered. "And aren't I a little old for you?"

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind older women," he said, grinning. "But if you're not interested, then you're not interested."

Yakumo snorted with a smile. "You're an odd one, you know that?" She asked the boy.

Daisuke looked at her. "You know I get that a lot," he said. "It can't be a bad thing, can it?"

Yakumo shook her head. "No, not at all." She answered.

An awkward situation was playing out at the front of the Caravan. Or at least that's Sai that was going on. He and his sensei Kakashi were at the front of the Caravan, acting as a vanguard. The Hyūga took up the rear using her Byakugan to watch for threats. At the same time, Yakumo and Haku protected the center.

Overall, it was a pretty standard and practical formation. However, as far as Sai could observe, that wasn't where the awkwardness came from. It was the silence between him and his assigned Jōnin sensei, which he believed was the source.

If this were a ROOT operation, then there would be no issue. But this was a standard Konoha genin team, and none of its members had undergone the training he had. According to the books he read, this silence between him and Kakashi indicated an awkwardness.

For the sake of the mission, he tried to remedy the situation by starting some small talk and breaking the ice, as the books on social interaction described. "Nice weather we're having," he said, looking up at the sky for a second to indicate his interest.

"Hmm, yes, it is," Kakashi answered, not looking up from his book. "Very nice," he flipped a page.

That had been his twelfth attempt, the third time he had tried to bring up the subject of the weather. The silence fell back over. If Sai hadn't had his ROOT training, he would have felt the moment's awkwardness, but since he did, he didn't. Tools like him weren't supposed to have emotion.

Sai tried to think of other ways to resolve the awkwardness. From what he had studied, members of a genin team were supposed to form close bonds of friendship and comradery. Theoretically, it would strengthen the team dynamic and allow them to operate more efficiently. Plus, as he had read, it would be good for his mental health, not that it was a problem for him.

Sai tried to think of another way to ease the awkwardness between him and his sensei. With his other teammates, it had been easy enough to get close to them, even if they showed signs that they did not appreciate some of his efforts. But with Kakashi, nothing seemed to bear fruit. Did he just like him for whatever reason?

His concentration was broken when he noticed prying eyes staring at him. He looked over his shoulder to see a flash of yellow disappearing behind one of the carts. One of the children was spying on him again.

"Kakashi-Sensei, would you mind if I checked on something?" he asked, pointing in the general direction of the poorly hidden figure.

Kakashi glanced at him. "So, you notice our little watcher, too?" he said. "How long?"

"Mostly shortly after you did," Sai answered. Truthfully, it was probably around the same time, but he didn't want to tip his hand too much. "So, should I investigate the matter?"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Just don't be too rough with him," he said. He's just a kid, after all. They're always curious about things."

Sai nodded, taking his orders to heart. He quickly slipped to the other side of the cart and moved around to the back. The boy hadn't noticed him slipping by as he peeked from the moving cart's side. His head was moving from side to side, scanning for the missing shinobi.

Sai knew he could have just walked over to where the child would have seen him coming; he could not escape or hide. But he had decided that a bit of mischief would help break the ice. At least, that was what he had read.

Sai puts on a smile and reaches his hand out. "And just what are you doing?" He asked, placing his hand on the child's shoulder. The boy let out a loud yelp and almost jumped into the air. He spun around and froze up when he saw Sai.

Distantly, the pale boy was aware of laughter in the background but ignored it. He studied the boy's face and quickly recognized him as one of the boys who had spied on him and his teammates, Akito. The boy looked between Sai and the out from the side of the cart. "How did you get behind me like that?" he asked with a smile.

Sai kept his smile and pulled the boy to the side so they wouldn't get in the way of the rest of the Caravan. When the two were, Sai answered while keeping his smile. "Simple, I'm a Shinobi," he said. "We're very good at sneaking around."

Akito nodded. "Wow, you must be really good if you can sneak up on me like that," the boy praised him.

"Yes, very good," Sai said.

"I'm really hard to sneak up on, you know." Sai doubted that, but he let the boy continue to speak. "You must have used your Shinobi powers or something? Did you?"

Sai continued to smile at the child. "Perhaps I did," he said, conveying a coy voice. "But why were you spying on me and my sensei?"

"Your sen-say?" Akito repeated cocking his head to the side.

Sai nodded and pointed to Kakashi. "That's him over there," he said. "You could say he's my teacher."

"Teacher?" Akito question. "What does he teach you?"

An idea formed in Sai's head. "Shinobi stuff," he answered.

Akito's eyes seemed to light up at that. "Really?" He asked. Sai nodded. "That's so cool! Can he show something? Can he? Can he?"

Sai faked a chuckle. "You sound interested," he observed.

Akito vigorously nodded. "Yeah, Shinobi are so cool!" he just about shouted. I want to grow up to be one someday."

Sai figured as much. In Konoha, he knew that there were plenty of kids who wanted to be Shinobi. It was to be expected in a hidden village, but Shinobi was renowned through the elemental nations (more than a bit ironic Sai would observe). But he figured it wouldn't be much different outside a hidden village.

"So, can he show me something?" Akito asked.

Sai smiled at the boy. "Maybe he can," he said. "Follow me, and we can find out." Sai started towards his sensei, and the young boy followed closely.

He didn't think much about the child becoming a shinobi. However, having him interact with Kakashi could be what Sai needed to break the ice with him.

Unknown location

"Report." The boss said.

"We found a caravan pass through a ridge not far from here," an underling reported. "There were about ten wagons in all."

The boss nodded, a smile forming across his face. "Sounds like a good target," he said. Why didn't you hit them? Are you sure your men would have been enough?"

"They had protection," the underling answered.

The boss snorted. "So, what?" he asked. A bunch of half-train peasants shouldn't be a problem for you. You have shinobi in your ranks. Even if they had a samurai, it shouldn't be a problem."

"They weren't peasants with sticks, boss," the underling said. "Or samurai. They had shinobi protecting them, Konoha-nin by the looks of it."

Now, the boss was interested. "Konoha, you say?" He asked. He got a nod from the man. "How many?"

"A full squad," the underling replied. "Plus, a chunin."

The boss rubbed his chin. "If I remember correctly, that would mean we are dealing with a Jōnin, a chunin, and three genin," he said. "Did the Jōnin or the chunin look familiar?"

"The Jōnin did strick Nobu as familiar," the underling said. "So, he's looking through the bingo books as we speak. As for the Chunin, she didn't seem to be anyone we would know. The only notable feature was that she appeared to be blind. Her eyes were a milky white."

That struck a chord with the group leader. "Milky white eyes?" he said slowly, wondering where he had heard that description before. Hold on, you did say they were Konoha-nin, right?"

The underling nodded. "The headbands were a dead giveaway, boss," he said.

The boss hummed to himself. "Did you happen to get a good look at the Chūnin's forehead?" He asked.

"No, she was wearing her headband over it," the underling answered. "Does something about her description ring a bell to you?"

The boss nodded his head. "I think so," he said, rubbing his chin. "And depending on what's under that headband, it might be an opportunity for us. I believe we might be dealing with a Hyūga?"

"Hyūga?" The underling asked. "You mean one of those clans with a doujutsu? What was it called again, the Byakugan?"

The boss snapped his fingers. "That's one," he said. If she is a Hyūga, we'll have to be extra cautious with her. From what I remember, the Byakugan gives a full three-sixty vision and dramatically expands their line of sight. If we do attack this Caravan, it would be swift."

"Understood, boss," the underling said. "That opportunity you spoke of. What was that about?"

Before the boss could answer, another man walked into the room, holding a bingo book. "I think I found the guy, Ken," the man said, walking beside the other underling, Ken. "Look familiar?" He handed the book over.

Ken took it and looked at the page to which it was opened. "Yeah, that's the guy we saw," he said. "Hatake Kakashi, otherwise known as Sharingan no Kakashi."

"He's also known as the Copycat Shinobi," the boss said. I recognize that name; he's one of Konoha's top Jōnin, apparently having been trained by Konoha's deceased Yondaime Hokage."

The two underlings' faces were worried. "If he's that good, then we should avoid attacking this caravan," Ken said. Those are probably softer targets we can go after, right?"

The boss shook his head, a mad smile spreading across his mouth. "No, we go after the caravan," he said, standing up.

"But Kakashi," the second underling protested. Then was silence as a kunai sliced past his cheek. A look of fear flashed onto the man's face.

"Is one man," the boss said, hand still outstretched. "We have the numbers to overwhelm a man like him. After he's dealt with, we can handle the Hyūga and the Genin."

Both men still had reservations but dared not voice them. However, the boss still seemed to notice their reluctance. "I am aware that this is a risk," he said, stepping away from his chair. We will likely lose a lot of good people trying to take Kakashi down. But I promise you that the price will be worth it. Just look at the bounty on the man's head, and you'll see that any effort will be worth it if we bring his head."

Both did as he said and looked back at the bingo book. The widening of their eyes showed they understood. The boss smiled and decided to sweeten the deal. "And if we can capture the Hyūga, we can get much more than that."

Ken looked up from the book with his wide eyes. "More? But how?"

A woman's voice answered the question. "Simple Kumo will pay a great deal for a Hyūga," a woman walked into the room. "Especially if she is from the main branch."

"Keiko, you've come back from your patrol," the boss said with a smile. "I assume that you overheard everything?"

The woman nodded. "More than that, as it so happens, my group spotted the same caravan," she said. "It is a nice juicy target, but not without some risks. You still plan to attack them?"

The boss nodded. "We have the men for it," he said. "I was about to give the order to attack when you came in."

The woman smiled. "Then might I suggest that you hold off on that," she said.

The boss arched an eyebrow. "Oh, you have something else in mind?" He asked her.

"I have a plan that involves luring the shinobi into a trap," she explained. "But we will have to be quick about it. As our window of opportunity will be short."

The boss rubbed his chin, thinking deeply about Keiko's offer. Then he sat back down in his chair and gestured to her. "Explain."

Caravan, encampment

"I think that will be enough for today," Kakashi said.

Immediately, Sai, Haku, and Yakumo stopped their training. Haku dispelled a couple of ice mirrors she had been using while Sai and Yakumo had been sparing.

The three Genin stood in front of their sensei. "That was good for today," he said. "I'm proud of the progress the three of you have made."

Yakumo smiled at her sensei. "It's thanks to you, Kakashi-Sensei," she said. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have come as far as we have had."

Haku and Sai nodded in agreement. "She's right," Haku said. "Since our team was formed, you've shown us a lot."

"And I do not think we could function as a team as well as we can without your help," Sai said. You seem to empathize a lot with teamwork."

Kakashi looked at Sai. "Is that criticism?" He asked.

Sai shook his head. "No, it's not," he replied. You have given us plenty of individual training as well. So do not think your empathizing on teamwork exercises has hampered our individual abilities."

Kakashi nodded. "Your praise is appreciated," he replied. But most of this work was done by you guys. All three of you are more talented than most Shinobi I have met. All I did was just help you reach it."

"You're being modest, sensei," Yakumo said with a giggle. "That's something I didn't think I would see from you."

Kakashi shrugged. "It is the truth, though," he replied. "Now then, I suggest that the three of you try to get some rest. We still have a journey ahead of us."

"How long do you think we are before we get to Honey Country?" Yakumo asked.

"If we can keep this up, two days," Kakashi said. "Possibly three. It will depend on the roads and how fast our clients are willing to move."

"For civilians, these merchants do move fast," Sai observed. "If we were traveling with anyone else. The journey would probably be two days longer, if not more."

Kakashi nodded. "Remember, they are a traveling caravan," he said. "These people are used to being on the move."

"I've talked to some of the merchants," Haku said. Most of them have grown up in this lifestyle. As it turns out, this Caravan goes back to just before the end of the Era of Warring States."

"So, they're older than the hidden villages?" Yakumo asked.

Kakashi nodded. "I would not be surprised if they are," he said. "Despite current tensions between the hidden villages, things are much more peaceful now than at that time. Caravans like this one can now flourish with fear of being wiped out they used to be."

Yakumo nodded. She had read plenty about that time. The Era of Warring States had been a brute time to live in, where whole villages and clans could be wiped out without anyone blinking an eye. At that time, the Kurama clan had more than a few scraps with annulation. So, she was not surprised that traveling caravans like this one could be destroyed.

"They must have quite a history," Sai said. "Having been around this long."

Yakumo nodded her head. "I think I'll have to talk to these merchants some more," she replied. "I would be interested in learning more about their history."

"Perhaps you can start by asking our observers," Haku suggested. She pointed over at the two boys watching them. "They're not even bothering to hide this time."

"That's because I invited them to watch," Sai said, getting surprised looks from Yakumo and Haku. They seemed so interested in us before, so I thought letting them watch would be no harm. Kakashi-Sensei didn't seem to mind."

At the looks he received from the three Genin, the silver-haired Jōnin shrugged. "I didn't see an issue with it," he responded. It's not like they weren't going to do it anyway."

"True," Haku said as she gestured for the boys to come over. The boys came running up to the Shinobi team. "But you could have told us before we started."

Both Sai and Kakashi shrugged. Akito and Daisuke stopped in front of the Genin, both of them with excited looks in their eyes. "Man, you Shinobi or so freaking cool," Daisuke said. "How can you even do stuff like that? One of you was making ice from thin air, and you," he pointed at Sai. "Just drew something, and it came to life. How'd you do that?"

Akito nodded his head. "Yeah, can you show us how?" he asked, a widening smile spreading across his face. "It would be so cool if we could just draw something and have it come to life. For example, we could draw dragons and ride on them. Or, we could make this huge house so everyone can live in it. Or," the boy continued to list a number of things.

Yakumo stopped the little blonde with a pat on the head. "I'm afraid he can't do all that," she said.

The young boy's face flashed with disappointment. "Aww, but why not?" he whined.

Yakumo smiled at the child. "There's only so much he can do," she said. "Plus, I don't think he can teach you how to do it. Is that right, Sai?"

Sai smiled and placed a finger on his lips in a whispering motion. "Trade secret," he said.

Daisuke folds his hands behind his head, a frown tugging at the corner of his face. "Well, that's disappointing," he said, then looked at Haku. "What about you? I don't suppose you can show us something? Having ice powers like that would be really cool. Especially on hot days."

Haku shook her head. "I'm afraid not," she said. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't. It's something only I and others like me can do."

Both caravan boys looked at her with confused expressions. "Someone like you?" Daisuke asked.

A small chuckle was heard from Kakashi. "I'm sure that's something my cute little genin can explain later," he said with one of his eye smiles. "But I know you didn't come here to talk. You want to be shown something. I think I can come up with something."

Now, that piqued the interest of the two boys. The Genin of Team-7 exchanged knowing glances. "Well, Kakashi, while you're giving them a lesson. I think the rest of us will take a break." Yakumo said.

Kakashi nodded at the three, and they walked off. Haku stretched her arm into the air, letting out a yawn. "I don't know about you guys," she started. But I think I'll try one of those natural hot springs the merchants mentioned. Are any of you coming?"

Yakumo shook her head. "I think I'll pass on that for now," she said. She then pulled out a brush and a pen. That pass we went through inspired me. I want to see if I could get a good view and sketch it down."

Haku nodded. "I'll look forward to seeing it when we return to the village," she said. Then she looked at Sai. "What about you? You going to try the spring?"

Sai shook his head. "I think I'll work on my painting as well," he said. "My ink creatures felt a little off during training."

Haku shook her head. "My teammates, the artists," she said in jest.

"Plus, I don't think it would be appropriate," Sai continued.

"Appropriate?" Haku asked.

Yakumo chalked it up to her imagination but swore she saw Sai's checks reddening just a little. "For a lady and a guy to be bathing together, like you're suggesting," he said. "I think it would be better if I waited until after you're done."

Haku looked bewildered for a second. Then, a bemused smile won its way to her lips. "Now, I never suggested that we all bathed together," she said, a hint of tease in her voice. "I was just asking if you would use the hot springs."

For his part, Sai acted sheepish, or that was what Yakumo thought. "Oh," he said. I thought you were implying," he stopped slowly, shaking his head. "Never mind. I apologize for the misunderstanding. I think I'll still wait until after you're done."

Haku and Yakumo glanced and smiled. Haku looked at Sai. "Are you sure you want to wait?" she asked. It might be a while. Perhaps sharing a bath might not be such a bad idea."

Yakumo shook her head, barely holding back a chuckle, as Sai denied Haku's suggestions with his usual calm demeanor.

Hot Spring

Haku released a breath of relief as she slid into the hot spring water. It took her body a moment to adjust to the sudden heat, but her whole body relaxed once it did.

The wonders of a natural hot springs, she thought to herself as she got comfortable—just the kind of thing she needed after several days of travel and training. The company was nice as well.

"Well, you seem to be enjoying this," Sara said, her eyes closed. It must have been a long day."

Haku smiled. "Of a sort," she said. Training is not difficult, and my current situation is not hard on me."

The Hyūga woman looked at her with one open eye. "Oh, and I thought Kakashi-San would be driving the three of you into the ground," she said. "His genin test is infamous in the village; until you guys came along, no one ever passed it. So, most assumed that his training would be just as harsh."

Haku shook her head. "I think he's doing it more for the others than me," she said. He knows I was trained by Zabuza, so he knows I can take it. The others, though, they haven't had the life I had." She had some suspicions about Sai.

"That does make sense," Sara said. "But eventually, he will have to go harder on you. You know that, right?" Haku nodded. She would expect nothing less from the man. "That said, is he a good sensei?"

Haku arched an eyebrow. "A good sensei?" She inquired.

Sara hummed. "Not everyone is cut out to teach others," she said after a moment. While Kakashi has a lot to offer to young shinobi like you and your teammates, it does not mean he can pass them on. Get what I'm saying?" Haku nodded; she sort of understood what the Hyūga woman was getting at. "So, I wondered if Kakashi might be one of those people—the kind that makes for good teachers."

Haku closed her eyes to think, the hot spring heat seeping into her skin as she thought. "I think Kakashi-Sensei is learning how to be a good sensei," she said, opening her eyes. "I'm not saying that he's bad or anything. But I believe he likes us. He's trying to figure it out as he goes."

Sara nodded. "That's all any of us can do," she said. "Did you think I knew how to take care of Naruto from day one? It was something I had to figure out, and trust me when I say that Naruto definitely had a learning curve."

Haku smiled. She could see Naruto being a handful. "Kakashi is a good man," she said. "And I think he'll make for a good teacher as well. We just need to give him time and a chance. He's already taught us so much."

"What sort of stuff has he taught you?" Sara said. "Nothing inappropriate, I hope. He may be one of the village's most skilled Jōnin, but he has a certain reputation."

Haku smiled and chuckled. "He hasn't done anything like that, Sara-San," she said. "Mostly, he's taught us a lot about teamwork." Given the man's history, she could see why he would empathize teamwork. "And individually, he has helped us a lot."

Kakashi suggested new ways of using her Ice-Release and even directed her to people who could help her more. She still wasn't sure if asking the Hokage for help like that was right. "I believe what he has to offer will be good for all of us."

Sara smiled and sunk into the water a little. "That's good to hear," she said. And what about your teammates? How are they?"

"Excuse us. Do you mind if we join you?" Haku and Sara looked to see some of the Caravan's women standing by the hot spring. The woman in front, Naomi, smiled at them.

Haku shook her head. "No, not at all," she said, then looked at Sara. "What about Sara-San? Mind the company?"

Sara shook her head. "Not at all," she said with a smile. "It would be nice to have some more company."

Naomi's smile grew. "Oh, thank you," she said, stepping into the hot spring, and the other woman followed suit.

"Speaking of company," Haku's eyes went to a thick of trees. "What should we do about our other guests?"

If Haku hadn't known better, she would have thought the Hyūga woman's smile was almost mischievous. "I think I'll let you handle that."

Naomi settles next to Haku, a confused look on her face. "Something going on?"

Haku shook her head and waved Naomi off. "Nothing to worry about," a smile swept across her face. "It's already being taken care of."

"Ar-are you sure that there's nothing wrong with this?" Akito asked nervously. "It seems kind of wrong." He continued feeling his cheeks heating up.

Daisuke waved him off as he continued to smile broadly. "Sure, there's nothing wrong," he said, his eyes taking on a gleam that Akito felt was dangerous. Though he didn't know why. "All we're doing is just appreciating the female form."

Akito tilted his head to the side. "Appr-eciating the female form?" He asked. Daisuke could say some weird things, especially about girls and women.

Daisuke tore his head away from the hot spring and the women bathing in it. "It just means we like how women look," he explained. Don't you think these lovely young ladies are pretty?"

"I guess," Akito said, looking over his friend's shoulders and gazing at the women. He would admit they were pretty, especially the cool ninja lady with the weird eyes. But honestly, Akito could not wrap his mind around his friend's obsession with the opposite sex. Sure, Akito liked the girls in the Caravan, but he didn't always have them on his mind like Daisuke seemed to. There were other things on his mind, like how cool Shinobi was and what strange places his family was traveling to next.

"But do we have to spy on them like this?" Akito asked as he looked back at his friend. Daisuke had already turned his attention back to the hotspring. "Can't we just ask them if we can watch?"

Akito knew how he would feel if someone were to watch him bathe without knowing it. He wondered why so much of this 'appreciation' had to be done in secret. Why not just do it where people know about it? What was so wrong about that?

"Because they'll say no," Daisuke said.

Akito felt his eyes narrow. Even in his eight-year-old mind, he found that answer dubious. Was this some weird thing that would happen to him when he got older? Or was it just because Daisuke was an odd guy? Akito really hoped it was the latter.

Suddenly, Akito felt a cold chill in the air as a voice answered. "Oh?" Akito turned around to the source and felt the blood drain from his body. "Now, what makes you so certain of that? I might have been inclined to say yes."

"Di-Daisuke," Akito tried to warn his friend, to no avail.

"That's because you're not in our position," Daisuke said with a dismissive wave. "Besides, you wouldn't understand how a woman thinks. Not like I do."

"Dai," Akito said in a trembling voice, but no other words escaped his mouth as he was silenced.

"And pray tell, what do you understand about a woman's mind?" The newcomer said.

Daisuke turned around to face the source of the voice and started to answer them. "Well, it's very simple," he said. "Women are arree," his voice died off as he gazed into the eyes of one of the Shinobi ladies. Who had an ice-cold smile.

The lady's smile grew, and Akito swore he felt a shiver in the air. "Go ahead," she said, crossing her arms, her smile never fading. "Finish your answer."

Daisuke chuckled nervously and started to rub the back of his head. "Can I plead to silence?" He asked. Akito thought it was the smartest thing he had said all day.

The woman's smile grew less cold. "Smart reply," she said. Then, before the boys could react, they felt themselves being grabbed and dragged away. A moment later, the boys were kneeling before the hot spring, and the women looked at them with a mixture of anger and bemusement.

Akito's mother stood before them, a towel wrapped around her body, arms crossed, and feet tapping on the ground. "Just what possessed you to think this was a good idea?" She asked.

Akito felt his face turning red. He hated it when his mom used that tone of voice. He and Daisuke remained silent under the former's mother's stern gaze.

"Well?" Mom said, putting more empathize in her voice. "What do you two have to say for yourselves?"

This time, Akito was the first to answer. "We're sorry," he said in a hushed voice. "We shouldn't have done it."

Daisuke was nodding quickly. "Y-yeah, what he said," he replied. "We're sorry."

"We know it was wrong," Akito quickly cuts in before Daisuke can say anything else. "And we won't do it again. We're sorry."

Daisuke whipped his head around to look at Akito. "We won't?" He asked. Then he straightened up at the look he got from the younger boy. He looked at Akito's mom. "We won't do it again, we promise.

Akito's mom shook her head. "At least one of you has a proper head on his shoulders," she mutters. Her gaze narrowed on Akito, who shrunk into his shoulders. "Too bad you didn't use it."

Akito gulped. "I'msorry," he said quickly.

Mom continued to stare at them intensely for another second or two, which the young boy felt a lot longer. Then, her expression softened before a smile broke out. "Honestly, I don't know what to do with you," she said, shaking her head again. "But I suppose that boys will be boys."

Akito smiled softly as he realized his mom wasn't angry with him. He and Daisuke were in the clear for the moment. "We're sorry," he said again. "We won't do it again, promise." Well, at least Akito wasn't going to do it again. Daisuke could get into trouble by himself next time.

"We'll talk about this with your father later," Mom said. Then she looked at Daisuke with a sharp expression that caused him to shrink back. And don't think you're off the hook either. I'll be telling your mother about this the next time I see her."

A look of feat appears on Daisuke's face. "Pl-please don't," he started to beg. "If she finds out about this, she'll kill me."

Akito's mom looks unconvinced by Daisuke's statement. "Then it'll serve you right," she said flatly. "Honestly, you take too much after your father. The perv, corrupting his own son, and now you're doing the same thing to my little boy."

"No, please don't," Daisuke begged, putting his hands together. "You'll be an accessory to murder!"

Akito tilted his head to the side and looked over at the pretty ninja lady with ice powers. "Will Daisuke's mom really kill him?" he asked. I thought mothers were supposed to love their kids."

The lady giggled. "I wouldn't worry about that," she said. "He's just exaggerating."

"Exger-rating?" Akito repeated the word. He had heard it before. He figured it was another word for lying.

The other ninja lady, the one with the white eyes, answered him. "It means he's making the situation seem worse than it is," she said. Trust me, his mother won't kill him. Although she'll probably make him wish she had."

Akito didn't fully catch that last part. He looked over at Daisuke, who was still begging his mother not to tell his mom about this. He looked back at the ninja ladies. "Well, can we still be friends after this?" Akito asked. Some of the other adolescents say I shouldn't be around him."

It was his mother that answered. "Of course, you'll still be friends with Daisuke," she said, smiling down at him. "I wouldn't want to take your best friend away from you. Besides, outside of his mother, you're his only good influence. If he was more like you, then we would rest a bit more easily at night."

"Hey, I'm my own man," Daisuke said, huffing and crossing his arms. He was ignored.

"Just remember not to pick up any of his habits, okay?" Akito's mom said, winking at him.

Akito smiled and nodded. "I won't," he said. "I promise."

Akito's mother nodded. "Good," she said. "You've always been a good boy, and I hope you'll stay that way." Then she turned to face the ninja ladies. "I am so sorry about my son and his friend. I appreciate what you did here, but you know how boys can be."

The older lady shook her head. "No need to apologize, Naomi-San," she said. "Trust me, I know how boys can be at that age. "Although Naruto was never quite as pervy as that one," she pointed at Daisuke," he did have his moments. Especially when he made a certain jutsu."

Mom giggles. "Something tells me that there's a story there," she told the lady.

"Not one I want to share right now," the lady with the white eyes said. "Not when it could encourage more behavior like this." She looked at the boys still kneeling on the ground. Akito had the decency to look sheepish as he looked away. Daisuke, though, just smiled like nothing was wrong.

Mom shook her head, then looked at Akito and Daisuke. "Alright, you two," she said. Get back to the rest of the Caravan. It's getting late now, and I believe it's well past your bedtime. Both of you."

Daisuke opened his mouth to protest, but Akito's hand was over it before any words could escape. "Yes, Mom," Akito said. Then, he gently nudged Daisuke to follow him.

"Hold on for a moment," the lady with the ice powers said. "Let me get dressed, and I can take you back to the Caravan. Kids like you shouldn't be walking out at night like this."

"You don't have to do that," Akito's mom said. "They're perfectly fine walking on their own."

The ninja lady shook her head. "I insist," she said. "It is my mission to protect you people."

"But what about the hot spring?"

The ninja lady smiled. "I can always come back when the boys are safely back at the caravan," she said. She looked back at the boys. "Just hold on, you two. I'll just be a moment."

The other lady looked at Mom. "I would drop it," she said. We Kunoichi can be stubborn. It comes with the job. Besides, don't you feel just a little bit better knowing these two will have someone to watch as they walk home?"

Mom looked at Akito and Daisuke thoughtfully and then sighed. "Yeah," she said. I guess I would. Thank you, Haku-San." She bowed to the ice lady. Make sure these two get back safely, especially my little boy."

The ice lady, Haku, smiled back at Mom. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll make sure these two get back safely." She looked at the boys. "Now, don't you two feel safer knowing I'll be watching you?"

Akito smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that would be great," he said. He didn't know about the safety thing. He was pretty sure Daisuke, and he could make it back to the Caravan safely by themselves, even with it being dark out. But he wouldn't pass it up if this were a chance to hang out with one of the shinobi.

Daisuke seemed to agree with Akito. 'Well, at least we'll get something out of this," he muttered, a sly smile present.

Mom glared at the red-haired boy. "Now, don't go thinking you're off the hook," she said sternly. "First thing in the morning, I'm talking with your mother. Is that understood?"

Daisuke gulped and nodded his head. "Perfectly," he said. "At least I'll get one last night of sleep before I die."

Akito giggled. After hearing what the ninja ladies had to say, he was pretty sure that Daisuke's mother wouldn't kill him—reasonably sure anyway. It didn't take long for Haku to get dressed and the boys to begin their journey back to the Caravan under her watchful eyes.

"They're splitting up," one of the mooks said.

Keiko nodded her head. "Your group goes after the kids and the young kunoichi," she said. "I'll take care of the Hyūga. Understood?"

"Hai!" Her subordinates all said in unison.

Keiko smiled. She was looking forward to seeing how she would fare against a Hyūga. If they could capture her, Keiko knew Kumo would pay through the nose to get her. Of course, if that did happen, they would have to take precautions to make sure Kumo didn't try to pull something over them.

But that was a matter that could be dealt with when it came. "Then we strike," she said. "Everyone move out."

Yakumo was finishing her sketch when Kakashi spoke up. "A nice drawing you got there," he said lazily.

Yakumo smiled as she put her pin down and admired the sketch of the pass. It was decent, she would admit. "It's not my style," she said. "But I think it will be good enough until we get back to the village."

Kakashi nodded. "Right, you prefer paintings, don't you?" He asked. He got a nod from Yakumo. "You know you could have brought your supplies. I would have not objected."

Yakumo smiled, pleased at her sensei's show of support. "I did not think I would have the time for it," she said, "not with us having to travel so much."

Kakashi nodded. "I didn't say you had to do a full painting," he said. "You have gotten something down quickly like you did with your sketches there."

Yakumo shrugged and started to pack her sketchpad and pens away. "I prefer to take my time with my art," she said. "Plus, I thought this might offer me an interesting challenge. See how much of this I can commit to memory, the colors and liveliness of the scene."

"So, the sketches are just a reference base," he said. "You want to recreate what you see fully when you return home."

"Or as much as I can," Yakumo replied. I know I won't recall everything perfectly, let alone put it on a canvas. Even when I have the landscape in front of me, it always seems slightly different."

"I think that would be because of your own perceptions," he said. "They'll affect how it turns out. Tell me, do you only do landscapes? Or do you work on other projects?"

"I am experimenting with other art forms," Yakumo said, standing up. "One that has caught my interest is something called abstraction."

"Really now?" Kakashi said, crossing his arms. "Be interesting to see that."

Yakumo smiled and was about to elaborate when a shriek pierced the air.

Haku tried to repress a giggle as she walked the two boys back to the Caravan. The youngest of the two bombarded her with question after question. "It must be so cool to be a shinobi," Akito said with wonder in his eyes. "What's that like."

Daisuke had his hand on his head as he walked alongside his friend. "It must be nice being able to throw fireballs and stuff," he said. "Though with you, it would be more like wiping up an ice storm or two."

Haku smiled at the boy. "I don't think I can quite do something like that," she said. Not without a lot of chakra to throw around anyway. However, could she do it in a localized area? Haku filed that into the back of her mind for later.

"But I think the ability to get into anywhere would be even better," Daisuke said, a gleam appearing in his eyes. "Imagine all the ladies Akito and I could spy on if we could sneak around like you guys."

The blonde next to him rolled his eyes. "Why would we use it for something as lame as that?" He asked. Haku was happy to know at least one of the boys had a brain.

Daisuke looked offended. "Lame?" He said. "Why, it's the greatest thing ever. You're just saying that because you're still a kid." The redhead thumped his chest. "Me, on the other hand, I'm a man."

Akito looked just about as impressed as Haku did. "You're not much older than I am," he pointed out.

Daisuke shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, when you're older, you'll understand," he said.

Haku shook her head. "Well, hopefully, he won't be nearly as bad as you," she said. "You should try being a lit..."

Haku saw a shadow coming down on her. She barely had enough time to avoid being chopped in half as she jumped back. Two cries pierced through the air as Haku ducked under another sword strike from her attacker. Still moving under, Haku went for a palm strike on the man's gut. But the man saw it coming and quickly stepped away and brought his sword down on her.

Haku rolled away and twisted up. Then, a hand shot from the corner of Haku's eyes. She spun around and deflected the attack and did the same again as a kick came at from a third attacker. Haku jumped away to give her some breathing room and time to assess what was happening.

Landing on the ground, Haku saw that three men were attacking her. And these are no ordinary men, Haku thought to herself. Their movements were much too fluid and precise to be ordinary bandits. She was facing a band of shinobi.

Haku tensed into a fighting form when she heard screams of panic. She turned her head around and paled at seeing a fourth shinobi holding one of the boys, Akito. Daisuke was on the ground, looking up at the man in fear.

Instinct drove Haku as she shot for the man holding the young boy. She halted her step when she saw the kunai on Akito's neck. The man smiled at her wickedly. "That's a good kunoichi," he said, holding the kunai closer to the boy's neck. Haku could feel her heart aching as she saw the look of fear on his face. "We wouldn't want any of your clients to get hurt, now, would we?"

Haku kept herself from gritting her teeth. She needed to remain calm and find a way out of this situation. However, before any plan could form, more screams went through the air, this time coming from the direction of the hot springs.

Haku's eyes widened, and she realized the enemy had two groups. That was when she felt a heavy blow to the back of her head, and everything went dark.

Sara dodged another strike from her opponent and sent a palm strike aiming to close off a tenketsu point. Her opponent parried the attack quickly and pulled herself away from Sara. The Hyūga kunoichi gritted her teeth. Whoever her opponent was, she knew what kind of opponent she was up against and took care not to take any direct hits from the gentle fist.

With her Bykugan activated, Sara could see what was happening around her. Several of the women tried to flee into the woods, but they were captured by other shinobi hidden among the trees. Sara tried her best to protect them.

However, given her current state of undress and the number of opponents there, her options were limited. It didn't help that her current opponent was pressing on her, giving the Hyūga woman little room to act.

At the same time, she saw Haku, and the boys being attacked by a second group of shinobi. Whoever these people were, they were coordinated and knew where and when to attack. "You've been watching us," Sara said, ducking under a blow from the opposing kunoichi.

The woman smirked as her hands blurred through some hand signs. "Got it in one," she said. Then, I took a deep breath. "Faton: Rapid Air Bullets!"

Sara twisted around to avoid several bullets of compressed air. She saw one colliding with a nearby tree, putting a sizeable hole in it. Sara shot her arm out, fingers coated in chakra to pierce through a tenketsu in the woman's side.

The kunoichi bent out of the way and swept her leg out. Sara stepped over, and above the leg swept. "You must have spotted us some distance away," Sara said, deflecting an attack. "Otherwise, I would have seen you and your men."

The woman smiled. "What?" the woman sneered, deflecting a strike from Sara. "Are those eyes of yours not as all-seeing as your clan boasts?"

Sara pressed her anger down and focused on her opponent. If she could defeat or incapacitate her, she could focus on protecting the clients. Failing that, she could hold her off long enough for help to arrive.

Already, she could see Kakashi and Yakumo making their way here at high speed. The tables would turn if Sara could hold her opponent off long enough. Her opponent was good; she would give her that, but she doubted she could go against a shinobi of Kakashi's caliber. Just a few minutes was all she needed.

Unfortunately, Sara would not get those few minutes. Sara thrusts forward, an arm outstretched to strike her opponent. The opposing Kunoichi sidestepped the attack and shot a swift punch to Sara's face.

Sara stepped away from the attack and the one that followed. That was when her opponent pulled out a kunai with a tag attached to it. She threw it to the ground just below Sara's feet. The Hyūga Kunoichi only had a second to see what kind of tag was attached to the kunai. Sara quickly deactivated her Bykugan and tight shut her eyes. She saw the bright flash of light through her eyelids.

Instinct screamed at her to move, and she did. She jumped to the side, feeling a presence moving past her. Sara opened her eyes and saw her opponent coming at her. Sara quickly parried the palm strike from the other woman and shot her arm out. The blow connected with her opponent's shoulder. Sara smirked at finally landing a blow on her. Now, if only she could have closed some of the tenketsu points there.

Sara's smirk turned into a look of confusion as her hand sunk into her opponent's shoulder. She tried to pull her hand out but found it stuck in the woman's shoulder. Then, Kunoichi's skin and clothes started to turn brown, and her body began to melt.

"A Mud Clone," Sara said, realizing what was happening. "But when?" Then she remembered the flash tag.

"You're pretty quick," Her opponent said from behind her. Sara looked behind her and saw the woman walking up to her, holding a hand in a sign. "But obviously not quick enough. And that's not just a mud clone. Doton: Trapping Mud Clone!"

Sara turned her head back to the clone just in time to see it explode into a blob of mud. The mud wrapped around Sara hard, stopping her from moving. Sara fell over the ground, unable to hold her balance as she struggled against her restraints.

Sara looked over at her opponent standing over her with a condescending expression. Sara cursed at her. "Damn you!"

"And I thought Hyūga was supposed to be composed," she said. One of the other shinobi walked over to the woman.

"Keiko," he said. "We've secured the others, and Nobu reports his team has successfully captured the Kunoichi and the boys she was escorting."

The Kunoichi, now named Keiko, nodded at the man. "Good," she said. "Then we can be on our way. As for you." She turned her attention to Sara. She closed her eyes, fully expecting to feel a kunai slitting across her throat. After that, she knew what would happen to her eyes.

But the kiss of steel never came; instead, when she opened her eyes after a moment, she saw that Keiko had bent down next to her and was looking at her in the eye. "I'm not quite done with you, little Hyūga," she said. "There's a message I want you to pass on."

By the time Kakashi arrived, he knew they had already been too late. He looked around to see if he could find any indication of where the attackers went and what might have happened to the women in the hot spring.

The silver-haired Jōnin was relieved to see that no bodies were lying. As far as he could tell, the women had been taken. It was not a good thing, but it meant there was a chance his team and he could rescue them.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Yakumo's voice grabbed his attention. He looked over at his student, seeing her kneeing by a mound of mud. She gestured to him to come closer.

On closer inspection, Kakashi saw that a figure, Sara, was buried under the mud. The Hyūga woman looked about as dignified as she could, given the circumstances. In any other situation, Kakashi might have found it hilarious. He looked down at Sara. "Sara-San, it's good to see you're alive," he said.

Sara glanced up at him. "I think that would be stretching it," she said.

Kakashi nodded, knowing a wounded pride when he saw it. "What happened?" He asked.

"We were attacked," Sara explained. "A group of men led by a kunoichi. They took the others as I fought the Kunoichi. She managed to trap me."

Yakumo looked at Kakashi. "Sensei, we should get her out of there," she said.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, we should," he said. "Then you can give us the full details."

Sara nodded. "Kakashi, the woman could have killed me when she trapped me like this," she explained. "But she let me live. She wanted me to pass a message to you."

Kakashi was waiting for something like that. "Then let's hear it."