Chapter 3

*static*

"These reports are.. disturbing, to say the least."

"Disturbing? Horrifying? Nightmarish? Impossible? These reports do not do what we saw in person justice. It was awful down there. I can still feel their blood and flesh on my skin."

"That's quite the picture, Tsunade."

"Look sensei, we know how the reports sound, but trust me, it's true. Take a look at this."

*scroll being opened, then a poof is heard*

"What. Is. That?"

"We don't know yet. We found out the locals were - *static* - we believe, or I believe that with further study, we could use it to help us out in this war against Hanzo."

"I see... this is to be considered an S class secret. No one is allowed to hear about these unless they've been authorized by me and me alone. Right now, I want all three of you to get some R and R. Orochimaru, you'll meet me in the future to discuss the application of this..rock."

*static*

Present:

"I've got eyes on the target."

"Copy that Blondy, I am in position. Waiting on Cherry Blossom"

"Ready when you arr Captain."

"Alright, team on go 3..2..1.. GO!*

Suddenly, a dark shadow dashed out of the bushes, scaring the target, sending him running only for another figure emerged. They were closing in on him. He ran from both in a different direction he was almost free! Suddenly, the target path is blocked by one final figure who places a cage in front of the target. Due to its momentum, it crashes inside, and it's locked in.

"Target has a bow on its head. This is Tora." grumbled Satsuki. She was only a ninja for two weeks, and she hated it already. Just one menial task after another. Her father told them that it would be boring at first, but this? "Mission Accomplished! Lost cat Tora has been found!" Kakashi said, way to upbeat and happy over the most time wasting task of a ninja's time.They then reported back to the Hokage's office to receive their pay for a job well done.

The Hokage sat in front of them looking through the papers that were laid out in front of him. "Excellent work, team seven. I have a few more missions here for you. You could help take groceries to -" he was cut off by a whine of conplaint from Naruto."I'm sick of these so-called 'missions' that are just glorified chores! I want a real one!"

"Naruto! That is no way to speak to the Hokage! You get the missions based on your rank and experience! You are just a fresh genin, so you can't expect an important mission to just -" "It's alright, Iruka. " Iruka was cut off by the Hokage, who just had a small smile on his face. "Kakashi, what do you think? Do you believe your students are ready for a higher grade mission?" Hiruzen asked the jonin.

"Hmmmm," Kakashi held his chin in thought. He looked down at each one to see their reactions. While his main concern was Sakura, she seemed determined to go. He could see the nervousness in her eyes but a steadfast determination to go. Perhaps she isn't so helpless after all. He looked at the Uchiha and wasn't surprised that she was determined to go as well as giving the famous Uchiha glare that screamed she wouldn't go easy on him if she didn't get a higher grade mission. And obviously, Naruto was excited to go since it was him who wanted a better job. "Alright then, I guess they are! We'll take a C rank mission."

"YES!" Naruto exclaimed happily he high fived Sakura while Satuski smiled in satisfaction. "Well then if that's the case then-" "Lord Hokage if I may" he was intrupted by Iruka who seem a little concerned "I don't think it's a good idea to send them out so soon they just graduated from the academy they're not ready." Before the three students could tear into him for doubting their abilities, the Hokage spoke once more."If you'd let me finish, I would've said that at the moment there aren't any missions. Now hang on, let me finish, I've gotten a request from the Land of Waves. The request came from a Tazuna. He wants help being escorted back to his home. He's leaving in a week and says he came by to help with a small construction project, and it shouldn't take him long. This should give you plenty of time to train and get your affairs in order."

"Well, alright then, team. You heard the boss get ready for training tomorrow morning and let people know where you'll be in a week." Kakashi said with an eye smile. The three ran off to get ready for the trip and prepare for their training. Once they were gone, Sarutobi's face went serious. "Iruka, I want you and the others to clear the room for me and Kakashi." he said calmly. Iruka was confused but knew better than to question a direct order from his Hokage when he was in a serious mood. The room was cleared quickly, leaving only Kakashi, Hiruzen, and Hiruzen's most trusted Anbu guards. "I'm assuming it has to do with the C rank mission?" Kakashi asked "Yes but not for what you might think. You see, this is still a C rank mission, except there is another task that I have for you in the Land of Waves." Hiruzen stated. "Do you remember our technological advancements we made in the past?" Kakashi pondered for a moment before a spoke."The ones that are still in progress but have supposedly changed our understanding of technology?" The Hokage nodded."While research has slowed down since Orochimaru's desertion and him taking or destorying whatever research we had, we might have found something that could help jump start it" Kakashi stared at his leader and elder before a knock was heard at the door. "Come in."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed at the man that entered. He was as old as Sarutobi, his shaggy black hair held up a it by the bandages on his head that covered his right eye. He had an x scar on his chin and wore a white shirt with a dark gray robe that covered his right arm that was also bandaged up. Using a cane to walk, the man had seen better days, but Kakashi knew how dangerous this man was. "Danzo." Kakashi muttered angrily."Good to see you as well, Hatake."

"I've invited him over to help discuss your part of your mission in the Land of Waves." Hiruzen spoke while taking a drag from his pipe. Kakashi looked at the Hokage with narrowed eyes. "What's so important in the Land of Waves that he has to be here for it? he asked. Danzo spoke up this time, a tone that mentioned no time for nonsense. "Kakashi, your mission is to locate the supposed deposit of Element 115."

Later

"Come on, you moron let's go. we got training to do." Satsuki said, annoyed at her comrade for being annoying. "Aw, cmon, Satsuki can't we just stop for a small food break," Naruto begged. "You know Kakashi-sensei is going to be late anyway!" she sighed."That's not the point. Remember, my mom said she didn't want you ruining your appetite before dinner." Naruto grumbled but ultimately accepted. He really enjoyed being with Mikoto and Fugaku at home. They were always nice to him and acted as a family, even taking him in. They didn't really adopt him they didn't fill out any paperwork or anything. Satsuki just brought him over one day, and the visits kept up. Knowing him to be an orphan, they offered him a room to stay with them, which he accepted gratefully through tear filled eyes. However, he can sometimes catch them looking at him with a distant look in their eyes. He suspects they know more about him than they let on. He even befriended the infamous Itach! Sure, he was a little reserved, but he really was such a nice guy. Even taught Naruto the Shadow Clone jutsu, which he used to pass the academy! He would've never passed if it wasn't for him, so he felt he owed him a lot.

They both arrived at the training grounds and met Sakura on the bridge over the river that connected the clearings. "About time you guys showed up, I was starting to go crazy due to boredom." said the cherry blossom. Naruto sat on the railing of the bridge while the other two just leaned on it. "How long do you think it'll be this time?" asked the blonde. His response was an annoyed grunt before the Uchiha spoke, "I don't know. He's never consistent with his tardiness. He's either on time, 10 minutes, 45 minutes, or 3 hours late! He doesn't want us to get too comfortable with his schedule." She replied, exasperated. Sakura groaned, but before she could take out her frustration on an innocent tree, a poof was heard.

Kakashi appeared on a branch above them in a poof a smoke. "Alright, my cute little genin, we have approximately one week before we head out, so I've decided to teach you how to defy gravity!" he stated with an eye smile. He was greeted by three looks of confusion. He chuckled before he turned around and walked off the branch. His genin was about to yell for him to be careful. He just ended upside on the same branch, just not falling! His students in awe of this technique were quite excited to start. "Now who can tell me what I just did?" Kakashi asked. Of course, after a few seconds of pondering, Sakura was the first to speak. "You are using chakra to stick to the log. How did the academy teach us how to stick leaves to our foreheads?" she said, unsure of herself for a second. "Very good! Now you guys try. Control your chakra by channeling it to your feet and using it to stick to it. I'd recommend a running start."

Naruto wasted no time before sprinting towards the tallest tree. Channeling chakra to his feet, he ran up the tree! For about three steps before, he was reminded that gravity is a constant force in the world, and he fell on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Satsuki rolled her eyes and ran towards a tree herself. Following Narutos' example, she channeled chakra to her feet. She made it seven steps before she was suddenly blasted from the tree. She would've met with a tree if it wasn't for her sensei catching her mid flight and dropping her like a sack of potatoes near Naruto's collapsed form. "Ah, how forgetful of me. You need to find the right balance, or else you'll either be sent flying into the treeline, or you'll just slip and fall."

While he was distracted with the two, he didn't notice that Sakura also studied what she had seen. 'Geez way to state the obvious. I need to find the perfect amount he recommended a running start, but what if I try it..' she thought to herself. She lay down at the base of the tree and placed her feet against the back. Channeling her chakra, she felt her feet grip the tree before she attempted to move. Slowly, she rose up by walking upwards! With each step she took, she felt her back lift off the grassy field and just felt her gravity shift a bit. As she ascended, she would adjust her chakra. If it felt like it was losing grip, she'd add a bit more, or if it felt like her feet were pushing against a magnet, she'd lower it. After enough confidence in herself, she dashed up the tree before making it to the top. "Hey, this is pretty easy!" She examined as she waved at the from the branch.

"Well, would you look at that maybe the academy made a mistake by naming you rookie of the year." Kakashi looked at Satsuki as he said it smugly. "And you being labeled the dead last makes sense, and you think you can become Hokage?" The two of them gritted their teeth in anger before both ran at the tree. This time, Naruro made it up 9 steps before being blasted off, while Satsuki made it up 15 steps before she slipped. Kakashi approved of their new found motivation. "Sakura, run up and down the tree nonstop for 10 minutes after you can do that without failing off once you can move on to the next thing." Sakura let out a yell on indignation before ultimately complying and started running down, then back up. However, on her way back up, she lost her footing and slipped before she caught herself. "You slipped timer has been reset!" he yelled as he took out his book to start reading. He chuckled when he heard her shout of frustration from her. He looked over one last time at his other 2 students. They seemed to have started a race on who could get up there first. Satsuki was in the lead, but Naruto was slowly catching up, which just seemed to infuriate the Uchiha. He looked down at his book but didn't do any actual reading. He couldn't stop thinking about his side mission. He didn't like it one bit. He was tasked with loacting and returning with a deposite of Element 115. He had no idea what it was, but it's important enough for the Hokage and Danzo to agree on the same thing. Retrieve the rock, and if not possible, destory it. He's heard rumors of what it was capable of, an almost infinite source of power that could be studied and improved the human condition. However, supposedly, there were some side effects. One of them being corruption, which is what Sarutobi believed is what affected the Snake Sannin. Although Kakashi believes he's just using that as an excuse to cope for his students' betrayal, Either way, it seems he has to make sure his little genin is somewhat prepared for a C rank mission.

After all a couple of bandits on an escort/ retrieval mission, how hard could it be?