Chapter 12

It was finally time for us to depart to the Land of Waves. This was going to be quite the interesting mission, and a good test of my abilities.

I look over the supplies I had for this mission. I had my kunai, ninja wire, soldier pills just in case, and some other essentials.

I frown as I look at one specific item in particular, one that wasn't to do with survival or fighting. It was a letter, sealed with the special seal only the Hokage can make. It was something the First Hokage did with his wood style to make an uncopyable seal stamp, even for someone else with wood style. It was unforgable and always authentic

The letter brought up what I just recently talked about with Hiruzen and Kakashi. We decided that Zabuza and Haku would be great allies for the village, and their goals just so happened to make it easier to convince them to come to the village.

The letter contained a list of benefits the missing-nin would obtain if they joined the village, along with an automatic promotion to jonin and chunin for Zabuza and Haku respectively. For the two constantly on the run from their village, this would be a much needed benefit for them.

I pack up the letter, wondering how I would even give this to Zabuza without the man cleaving me in half. That sword was massive and powerful, and I have no doubt it would be enough to kill me as I am.

I grab my bag and seal into a storage scroll, sticking it in my kunai pouch and pushing the thoughts away. It was something I could take up later.

I walk out of my room and run out of the house. Almost instantly I take to the rooftops, bounding across them to the gates of the village. I had only a few more minutes until I had to arrive.

After just a short trek, I reach the gates. Naruto and Sakura were already there, waiting for me. I land, giving them a typical greeting, before slumping onto the ground and groaning slightly. Even with my eagerness and previous experiences, getting up this early is never fun.

Just as these thoughts pass through my head, Kakashi and Tazuna appear with a body flicker. Kakashi just eye smiles at us, but Tazuna looked quite woozy. Remembering the guy's drinking habits, I quickly back away.

Kakashi waves and says "Why hello my cute little students! It's time for the mission to begin."

Naruto grins and gets up, his boundless energy kicking in. "Finally! Ever since you said we would be getting a C-rank mission, I've been so excited!"

Sakura scowls and hits Naruto on the head, causing the blond to yelp in pain. "Not so loud Naruto! It's still early."

I stand back up, looking as bored as ever. I really was, honestly. "So Kakashi-sensei, how long should it take to get to the Land of Waves?"

Kakashi's eye closes in thought, then he says "At a shinobi pace, only a day or two. But with Tazuna-san here, it will take about four days, give or take any… disturbances." He looked at me specifically when he said that, and I knew exactly why. The Demon Brothers were on the way there.

Relapsing into his normal demeanour, Kakashi then says "Well Tazuna-san, are you ready to go?"

Tazuna just grunts, then says "Sure, but if these brats start complaining on the way there, I am going to be upset."

Naruto growls, then yells "We ain't that petty old man! Have some respect for us ninja!"

Kakashi levels Naruto with a lazy glare, then says "Naruto, what did we say about yelling this early?"

Naruto looks at Kakashi for a second, then just grumbles to himself. Tazuna snorts, but Kakashi then says "And Tazuna-san, if you wish, we can go at a shinobi pace with you on my back so they 'don't complain'."

The drunken man pales rapidly, then quickly says "N-No, that w-won't be required."

Kakashi eye smiles and says "Then let's go, shall we?" Tazuna just nods, and we all begin walking.

As we move, Naruto tries to strike up with Sakura, met with limited success despite our new developing friendship. Kakashi just reads that book of his, while Tazuna continues to drink himself into a haze.

I observe everything quietly, my hands in my pockets. The progress we made recently was amazing. With Kakashi being more strict and not late for practice, we've gained much more knowledge on how to be a ninja. Or, Sakura and Naruto have.

Speaking of those two, my eyes drift to them. Sakura and Naruto had roughly the same dynamic as before, but more relaxed and banterful than the straight up bullying Sakura was doing before. Training and living together certainly changed things for the better.

Then comes their skills. Naruto was much more able than before at handling situations and reading underneath the underneath. He didn't freeze up when threatened (tested via a transformed Kakashi), and was much more serious in battle. He still cracked jokes and insulted the enemy, us, but he was better. Not only that, but his clones worked so much better than I thought. In the two months of us training, he managed to refine his fighting style some more, and completed his wind manipulation training. He learned the Gale Palm jutsu relatively easily, and he even managed to figure out how to augment his shuriken and kunai with wind chakra to give them a sharper edge and increased, plus nearly invisible, range increase.

Sakura was less progressed in terms of techniques, but she improved the most. After taking my advice on her diet, she decided to eat normally. Much to her joy, she didn't become chubby like she thought she would. In fact, it helped fill out her figure more, making her even more attractive in my eyes. She also increased her reserves after completing the tree walking exercise, but didn't get to start water walking before we left. She could also heal up to broken bones with her Mystical Palm jutsu.

All in all, the two were much more able and powerful compared to before. The training really was helping, and living with each other was breaking down the barriers we had slowly. Although, Naruto still refused to tell Sakura about the Kyuubi. That was going to happen at some point.

I frown as I suddenly get a thought. Naruto would more than likely need a good reason to tell Sakura about the Kyuubi. If he wasn't forced, then he'd need to have some sort of deal, like compensation. I knew where my brain was going with this, and I don't like it.

If Naruto wanted to tell Sakura about the Kyuubi, he would need something about her in return. And since they didn't know much about me, then I would need to join in. Telling them my big secrets, or the ones I had as a genin, were not pleasing. I don't wish to revisit those horrible memories.

I shake my head, gritting my teeth. No, these thoughts would not plague me anymore. I've already put them to rest long ago. Besides, I had new thoughts now…

Suddenly, there was an intrusion in my senses. My eyes widen slightly, and I quickly activate my sharingan. My eyes narrow as I notice traces of chakra ahead, leading to… a puddle?

Just then, I remember what was happening. Right, it was the Demon Brothers. Seriously though, who hid in a puddle on a road that hasn't been rained on in weeks?! And these guys are chunin?

I take a subtle glance to Kakashi, and notice him focusing on the puddle as well. Either this was like last time and he would take notice of it normally, or he remembered it from my story. Either way, this would be similar, yet very different to last time.

I quickly speed up and join into Naruto and Sakura's conversation. "Hey Naruto, Sakura. I need to say something. It's quite funny."

Naruto and Sakura freeze for just a second, before slipping back into a seemingly 'relaxed' position. Naruto grins, then says "Oh yeah? What is it teme?"

I grin, then say "Remember back in the academy when those two bullies tried picking on Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widen, then she frowns. "Sasuke-kun, that wasn't funny."

I shrug, then say "But it was. Besides, I took them down so easily. Naruto, you had my back at the time, right? And Sakura was behind us, being protected?"

Naruto nods, slowly moving closer to Tazuna, as was Sakura. "Yeah, I think that's what happened."

I nod, a smirk on my face. We were just passing the puddle. "They never saw it coming."

Now, we were all positioned. I was closest to the puddle, just in front of Kakashi. Naruto was next to me, and Sakura was near Tazuna. And now, here it is.

The puddle behind us suddenly erupts outwards, startling everyone. We watch with wide eyes as two ninja throw a barbed chain around Kakashi, wrapping him tight. Then, with a sickening squelch, Kakashi was ripped to pieces. Our eyes widen, mine only slightly less. Sakura then screams "KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

One of the ninja chuckles, then says "One down." The other brandishes his gauntlet. "Four to go."

The ninja begin moving, making me drop the act. "Naruto, Sakura, Double Strike!." Naruto snaps out of his daze, then nods. Sakura nods numbly, but her mouth was set in a determined line.

I take off, Naruto staying close behind. I put my hand into the tiger seal as Naruto puts his in the cross seal. "HENGE!" "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Suddenly, 20 Narutos appear, and I looked just like them.

The two chunin look at the sudden mob in surprise, then just chuckle. "Useless against our chain." One of the whips the chain forwards, taking out three clones. I barely avoid the srike, but that gave me just what I needed.

With a burst of speed, I reach the first ninja. The ninja looks down at me in indifference, then shock. I smirk as I realize why. The Sharingan is hard to disguise after all. It must look odd to see it on one of twenty clones after all.

I instantly throw out a kick, slipping into my own fighting style, the Gale Fist. Utilizing my massive speed, I dance around my enemies with a flurry of hard punches and kicks. Despite the name, I don't use wind chakra in it. Although, maybe I could use fire of lightning chakra, maybe rename it Blitz Style. Fist would be weird with the word Blitz.

Getting back on track, I found out that my style came to me relatively easily. My muscle memory came back in a relatively short time. And with that, came an onslaught of punches and kicks at my opponent.

Eyes wide and shocked, he could only barely keep up with me. I wasn't far enough into my style that I could do those break dance style attacks, but my fluidity and constant dodging with my sharingan helped.

It only took a short time for the guy to get cornered. He growls, then says "Stupid brat!" He suddenly whips his chain at me, hoping to ensnare me with it. I slid underneath the metal with ease, expecting the attack. Kami, I love my eyes.

The Demon Brother yanks the chain back around, his eyes wide with anger. I just smirk and begin running through hand signs. The chain approaches me, just as I finish. I take a deep breath, then yell "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

The flame that I fire turns into a dragon's head for a split second, before roaring and attaching to the chain. It flies along the metal, leaving a trail of superheat metal behind, smoking with the burnt poison it.

The ninja's eyes widen in surprise, then fear as the flames quickly approach him. He fumbles with his gauntlet a bit, then the chain deattaches. He jumps back just as the flame reaches his position, burning silently now that a target was no longer there.

The ninja laughs, then eyes one of the blond clones. "Ha! Nice try kid, but you'll need to try harder than-" His speech was cut off as I plant my foot into his back. He rockets back down to the ground, and I grin as I come down with him.

Spinning myself, I bring down a powerful axe kick, right as the ninja rebounds off the ground slightly. "LION'S BARRAGE!" My heel slams into his gut, and the Demon Brother's eyes widen in pain. He gags as he feels the sudden flare of pain erupting from the attack.

I jump back, looking at my opponent. He was breathing heavily, and quite unsteadily too. He tries to pick himself up, but fell back down each time.

He looks over to me, two more clones joining me in case the guy managed to fight again. "H-How? How c-can a g-genin of all things b-beat me?! Especially a c-clone?!"

I smirk, dropping the henge. His eyes widen when he realizes he was fighting me, a real person, not a clone. "You may be a chunin, but I am much stronger than I look. My teammate should be finishing up your friend soon."

"Already got it done Sasuke!" A body flies into my vision, landing next to my defeated opponent. Naruto grins as he walks over to me. "The guy never saw me coming, especially when I started using my enhancements!"

I grin, then say "Nice work Naruto. Come on, let's tie these guys up." Naruto nods, pulling some rope out of a storage seal. He quickly ties the two ninja up to a tree truck, leaving the two exhausted ninja there to be picked up by ANBU.

I sigh, then say "Come out Kakashi. I know we need experience, but leaving us to fight two chunin?"

Kakashi chuckles, then steps out of the bushes, startling everyone but me. "Sorry Sasuke, but I needed to get some information."

His expression suddenly turns serious as he looks at Tazuna. "I was watching the battles, and I saw Naruto's opponent suddenly try to attack Tazuna. Luckily, Naruto stopped the attack. But this raises the question. Why were ninja attacking you Tazuna? And don't bother lying, I am a jonin for a reason."

Tazuna looks between with worry, then sighs. "Well, then I guess I have no choice. You see, someone is after my head. Gato."

Kakashi's eyes widen in mock surprise, and he says "Gato?! One of the richest men on the planet? That Gato?!"

Tazuna nods gloomily. "Yes, that Gato. He came five years ago and took control of our land. He controls all forms of trade, and since we are an island nation, that means our shipments are completely controlled. He's reaped this for his benefits for the entire time, and the economy of our nation has almost collapsed. The nation is in desperate need of free trade and economy."

Naruto frowns, then says "But why don't you just get a B-rank team then?"

Tazuna sighs, then says "I don't have the money for it. Even the daimyo has very little. That's why I purchased a C-rank mission. I desperately need a team to protect me so I can finish the bridge."

Sakura raises an eyebrow and says "Why is this bridge so important anyways?"

Tazuna nods, expecting the question. "The bridge will enable us to gain free trade again. It is a beacon of hope for our land. Sadly, this will break Gato's monopoly, and he doesn't like that. He has been sicking gang members on me and my workers to prevent us from working, and now, ninja. But I won't let him. This bridge is our last hope and needs to be completed."

Kakashi looks at him, then says "Be that as it may, this was still a lie to Konoha ninja. This is clearly a B-rank, bordering A-rank, and we cannot have that. If you just follow us, you can get your money back. This mission is over."

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widen, and I raise an eyebrow. Naruto then screams "No way! That guy needs help Kakashi-sensei! We need to go with him and continue the mission!"

Sakura nods, a fire in her eyes. "Yeah! I won't return home knowing I could've helped those poor people Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi sighs, then says "I seem to be outvoted. How about you Sasuke?" He looks at me with a raised eyebrow, but he knew my response already.

I cross my arms, then smirk. "I ain't backing down from this challenge. If Tazuna-san needs protection, then I will protect. Besides, I won't abandon my teammates just because of a couple enemy ninja."

Naruto and Sakura look at me with wide eyes, and then Naruto smiles warmly and Sakura gushes like a fan girl. I look at her in slight disgust and back away a bit. We all then look at Kakashi, daring him to deny us.

Kakashi looks between us, then says "Well, I really am outvoted. In that case, we'll continue with the mission."

Tazuna's eyes widen, then he says "R-Really?!" Kakashi just nods. Tazuna gapes slightly, then says "I… thank you."

Kakashi just shrugs him off, then says "Don't mention it. Now, let's get going." We all nod, then continue down the road. I take a single glance at the trees, then look forward again. This will be interesting.

-Author Notes-

For some reason, I had a big case of writer's block on this. I couldn't focus, and it was hard to write. But I managed it, and I hope it came out well. Thanks for reading!