Chapter 13

Naruto woke up at his usual time of five o' clock, refreshed and recovered from yesterday's training. He got up from his bed, rubbing his eyes a bit. Walking to the bathroom, he finished his morning rituals and almost put on his regular running clothes, before remembering that he had a C-rank mission today.

He shook his head and just put on a lower and shoes. He opened the door to his balcony and breathed the fresh, cool morning air. He shivered once as the air hit his bare upper body, but soon adjusted to it. He flipped onto the roof and began a series of stretches to simply warm his body up. 'Wouldn't want to exert too much today before the mission', he thought as he stretched every part of his body. With that being the last thought, he emptied his mind and enjoyed the silence that the village experienced in the early mornings before it began its daily chaos.

After one hour, he had sufficiently warmed up his body and decided to have breakfast before heading to the gates. Making a half ram seal, a shadow clone popped into existence, already knowing to make breakfast. It flipped his way into the apartment and into the kitchen while Naruto sat there, simply taking in the peace for a few more minutes.

'Kurama, in your ridiculously long life, have you ever taken time to breathe and admire the sunrise?'

'What brought this on, brat?' Kurama's voice was a bit laden with sleep, signifying that he was napping as usual.

Naruto shrugged, 'Just asking.'

'Despite what people tend to think about me, I don't rampage all the time, you know. Even I take time to appreciate the simply joys of nature', he grumbled.

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, 'Wow, people really don't understand you as well as they think they do.'

Kurama nodded mentally before shooing him away, 'Now go away, let the me rest in peace', he said, cutting off their conversation.

Naruto shook his head, 'He must have a passionate hobby of sleeping which he adheres to like anything.'

He flipped himself back into his apartment, walking to his bathroom to freshen up. Ten minutes later, he was eating four scrambled eggs, all the while mentally compiling a list of what he should take with him. He created a shadow clone to clean up while he got ready.

He dressed up as usual and sealed up whatever supplies he would need in a large sealing scroll which he brought from the Higurashi weapons shop. The folks over there didn't up the prices for him. He was considering selling his ideas for a modified explosive tag over there in exchange for a discount on his future purchases and a bit of secrecy. After all, he also needed those in the future.

After double checking everything, he picked up his scroll slung it around him and walked out of his apartment. He activated the trap seals which he had designed himself. While he knew no one had any reason to come to his apartment, he couldn't help but create them, just to test himself. With that, he flashed the Hiraishin seal on top of the gates of Konoha.

XXXXXXX

Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke each had different thoughts concerning this mission. Kakashi didn't lose his sleep over it, figuring this would be a normal C-rank mission. Truthfully, he didn't think his team was ready to take on a C-rank. While Naruto and Sasuke had established a sort of friendship, this would be the first time their co-ordination would be tested.

Naruto was clearly skilled. His taijutsu was between mi-chunin to high-chunin level, but Kakashi suspected Naruto had some sort of seal, probably weight or resistance, on his body to increase his overall speed and strength. Naruto hid it well, but the occasional stumble in places where there was no reason to stumble gave him the idea of speed and strength increasing seals.

Naruto already had an effective arsenal of jutsus at his disposal. Kakashi deduced that Naruto must have very high chakra control to perform the jutsus that he did. While he only witnessed them in the bell test, he saw enough to put together that Naruto had no problem in ninjutsu. He also knew that he didn't have to worry about Naruto succumbing to chakra exhaustion, considering his status as jinchuriki of the kyuubi and an Uzumaki.

Fuinjutsu was a branch of the ninja arts that not many chose to explore, considering how complex and vast it was. However, Naruto had already shown his proficiency with seals. It wasn't hard to believe that Naruto would use seals, knowing who his parents were.

Sasuke was also skilled, but outclassed by Naruto. The boy had a loner personality, but had mellowed a bit in the last two months. Kakashi knew that the credit went to Naruto, who knew exactly how to push the Uchiha's buttons and had somehow created a bond of friendship between them.

The boy's taijutsu was good, but he could only go so far without the sharingan. Kakashi didn't worry about it, knowing that once Sasuke awakened it, he would close the gap between him and Naruto.

While the sharingan was an excellent tool to use for ninjutsu, it really depended on the size of the person's chakra reserves. And he didn't even need to speak about Sasuke's proficiency in using ninja tools.

Sakura was perhaps the only problem in team seven. Her actions leaned more towards an obsessed fangirl than a kunoichi focused on her career. She would always be asking Sasuke out for dates, leading Kakashi to consider if the girl only became kunoichi to get close to Sasuke. She wasn't physically strong, did not know any useful jutsu, proficiency with ninja tools was mediocre at best and tried to make others feel bad to make herself feel better, as was the case with her and Naruto. Thankfully, Naruto seemed to be well versed in the art of ignoring Sakura.

The only good thing about her was that she had excellent chakra control and intelligence, but that was of no use to her if she couldn't find a way to apply it on the battlefield.

He had only taken this C-rank to show his team that the ninja world wasn't as easy and forgiving as it seemed. They hadn't even experienced their first kills, though that could change if they came across bandits.

Sasuke had his normal, neutral expression on his face as he walked to the gates for his mission. His thoughts, however, were anything but neutral.

Sasuke couldn't understand Uzumaki Naruto, no matter how he tried. Every time he thought he had figured Naruto out, the blonde would seemingly switch angles and leave Sasuke confused again. At first glance, he gave off the impression of a clown, but that quickly changed on the day of the graduation exam. Since then, Sasuke kept a close eye on Naruto.

On the day of the bell test, Sasuke had been outraged at the skill that was displayed by the blonde. He suspected Naruto's taijutsu was at par, if not greater than his own. But to engage in a spar with a jonin, attacking and countering all attacks with a precision and fluidity Sasuke did not possess, was enough to ignite jealousy inside Sasuke.

His ninjutsu was something Sasuke did not expect, but didn't exactly know why he was upset about it. So he didn't think much about it.

Sasuke had somewhat expected Fuinjutsu and immense chakra reserves from Naruto, having read up on the Uzumaki clan and their prowess in the art. He could accept that, but that was not the most surprising thing that happened to him.

He had thought that Naruto would hold a grudge against him for how Sasuke treated him at the academy, but instead of giving him the same treatment, Naruto had extended a hand of friendship towards him, telling him that he was willing to put aside the differences between them in order to work together.

At first, Sasuke had refused, firm on his belief that he will be only held back. But Naruto persisted, to the point that Sasuke agreed if only to get him to shut up. And it was….alright, to work with him.

Naruto invited him to occasionally have ramen with him at Ichiraku's. Sasuke had accepted every time, desperate to piece together the puzzle of Naruto. They usually talked about their training schedules; more like Sasuke wanted to know how Naruto became so strong. They talked about their childhoods, surprising Sasuke just how similar they were. Sometimes, they just complained about Sakura, with Naruto rambling and Sasuke pitching in every five minutes. And the weird thing about these meetings…..it became easier to talk to him every time.

Sasuke was now pretty sure that he did not consider Naruto as a weakling to be dismissed at the first glance, but rather as a scale to measure himself against. He respected him; he wanted to become as strong as Naruto, in hopes that he would surpass him and finally become powerful enough to kill his brother. He had accepted Naruto as a comrade…for now.

Sakura happily made her way to the gates, Sasuke being the main thought on her mind. She was sad how Sasuke always denied her a date, but kept her spirits high, just in case he decided to accept the next time. But in the past two months she had spent with her team, she was witness to some rather troubling developments.

The first was that she was forced to accept that she could not use Naruto as a step to boost her confidence anymore. He had made it very clear that he would not tolerate her picking on him anymore. That made her realize with a small amount of shame, that she had very unnecessarily picked on Naruto, who had no hand in anything that upset her.

The second was that Naruto was strong. Easily stronger than Sasuke, and she was not just talking about chakra reserves. She knew about the Uzumaki clan; Naruto was the physically capable of them all, proven when he could physically exert even more than Sasuke. He would take much longer than her and Sasuke to get tired and recover much more quickly than both of them.

The third and hardest to accept was that Naruto and Sasuke came from very similar backgrounds. She refused to believe that at first, going so far as to call him an orphan and could never match Sasuke. She was shocked though, when Sasuke came to Naruto's defense. He admonished Sakura, saying that she had gone too far. He harshly reminded her that he and Naruto shared the fact that they were orphans.

Since then, Sakura had felt tremendously guilty and had tried to act nicer towards Naruto. She wouldn't call them friends though, they were far from that.

She began to see Naruto in a new light. Though he always acted like he was indifferent, the subtle actions made it clear that he always cared for his comrades. She noticed that in the two months, Naruto and Sasuke had grown closer as friends. Sasuke too began to see Naruto in a new light. She saw that Naruto clearly knew that he was stronger than Sasuke, but he never rubbed it in the boy's face, instead he used this fact to encourage Sasuke to grow stronger.

She was, by no means, a friend to Naruto, but hoped that he would at least consider her a worthy comrade in time.

The two reached the gates exactly fifteen minutes before seven. Sakura's eyes lit up as she saw the dark haired boy.

"Sasuke-kun!" she waved enthusiastically, and like always, was disappointed when he replied with his customary "Hn."

Sasuke looked around, trying to find Naruto. 'Perhaps this mission may force Naruto to reveal what he is hiding from us', he thought. A hand fell on his shoulder and he barely caught himself from yelping. Instead, he turned his head back as calmly as he could to see Naruto's smirking face.

Sasuke tried to play it cool, but knew Naruto had already seen his moment of weakness. Before he could do anything else, Naruto chuckled and patted his shoulder, "It's ok, Sasuke. Even ANBU would be hard pressed to detect me in the middle of my pranks."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that, silently waiting for Naruto to elaborate, but he didn't. Naruto simply leaned against the wall, waiting for their sensei.

Sakura had a confused expression on her face, "Naruto, why don't you have a backpack like me and Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto replied, "Well, for one, sealing scrolls are just more practical to use. It takes time to take of your backpack, and rummage through everything to find what you need. All you need to do in a sealing scroll is unroll it, push chakra into the required seal and voila! So much quicker than backpacks, don't you think? Also, I modified this scroll to suit my needs. I trust my creation more than anything else."

"That's an interesting outlook, Naruto."

The three genin turned around to see Kakashi and their client coming. Tazuna was still drinking, but he didn't seem as drunk as he was yesterday.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, "While your logic isn't wrong, it is a bit unconventional for shinobi to use sealing scrolls instead of backpacks. However, if it works for you, I have no problem with it", he finished, shrugging in the end.

Turning towards his other two students, "Are you two ready?"

Seeing them nod, he turned to their client, "Let's go, Tazuna-san."

XXXXXXX

They had left the gates over four hours ago. Four hours of torturous silence. While Naruto appreciated silence, four hours of travelling with someone and not talking at all felt really awkward. He would talk with Tazuna, but nothing came to mind about what to talk. Talking with Kurama wasn't an option; the fox was easily snoring away.

Sakura seemed to sense the awkwardness as well, and she did not have the same problem as Naruto of finding a topic to talk about. "Um, Tazuna-san, you are from wave country right?"

Tazuna turned his head towards her, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Do you have a ninja village in that country?"

Surprisingly, it was Kakashi who answered, "Actually, wave does not have a ninja village. Each of the elemental nations has their own hidden shinobi villages. But the smaller countries don't have the resources to fund, let alone maintain their own hidden village. Budget, people, missions….there are so many resources to account for that the smaller nations can't afford. So they prefer to hire ninjas from other countries."

Naruto only paid half attention to the explanation, the other half of his attention focused on the puddle to the side of the road. It looked so out of place on the sunny day that a word automatically rang through his mind, 'Trap.'

He glanced at Kakashi-sensei, who had also seen the puzzle and figured out it's a genjutsu. He nudged Sasuke, motioning him to glance at the puddle. Sasuke raised an eyebrow for he didn't understand what Naruto was trying to imply, but it suddenly clicked after a moment. He nodded his thanks to Naruto who nodded back. They subtly re-positioned themselves in front of Tazuna.

As soon as they passed the puddle, Naruto's sense of danger buzzed loudly and he called out, "WATCH OUT!" He and Sasuke both jumped back in time, but Kakashi was apparently too slow to react.

Two ninjas jumped from the puddle and attacked Kakashi with a bladed chain, tearing him to shreds. At least that's what Sakura and Sasuke saw. Naruto's senses were fast enough to follow the kawarimi followed by a minor genjutsu.

"One down", the one on the right declared. They both then turned their attention towards the genin.

"Sakura, guard Tazuna!" Naruto shouted. He then turned his attention towards the one who was closing in on him. Holding a half ram seal, a shadow clone popped up beside him. Together, they both held kunai in their hands, reverse grip and coated with wind chakra. Due to his excellent chakra control and the chakra conducting metal of the kunai, the wind chakra got shaped like a second and a longer skin to the kunai.

Not wasting any time, both of them engaged the ninja from different sides. The ninja scoffed and tried to use his chain, but both the Narutos' easily dodged it. One of them attacked the chain while the original attacked the ninja. The ninja, whose eyes were wide after seeing the wind chakra on the kunai, was sufficiently distracted with trying to hold of the clone from cutting his chain off.

Naruto took advantage of this and executed a diagonal slash along the torso of the ninja. The wind chakra easily tore through and made a deep cut. Not enough to be fatal, but deep enough to hurt . The ninja cried out in pain and instinctively held his left hand to the cut.

The clone took full advantage of the opening and hit the back of the ninja's head with the blunt head of his kunai, rendering him unconscious.

Naruto and his clone smirked down at the fallen ninja and bumped fists, the action causing the clone to disappear. He looked over to Sasuke, who was about to clash with his opponent, a kunai and shuriken in hand. But before he could do that, a hand appeared in the ninja's path, right in front of his throat.

Needless to say, Kakashi's block easily knocked out the ninja cold. Eye smiling at his students, he said, "Good job on taking him out, Naruto. You too Sasuke, keeping the enemy away from the client. Sorry Sakura, I didn't know you would freeze up like that."

He tied up the two ninja against a tree. He missed the frustrated look on Sasuke's face, which turned into jealousy as he gazed at Naruto, who was watching Kakashi. 'He was easily able to knock out the ninja in less than half a minute! Why couldn't I do that?! I got stuck in engaging the ninja instead of trying to take him out as quickly as possible!' He clenched his fists in agitation.

Kakashi explained, "These guys are known as the demon brothers. They are rogue chunin of Kirigakure no sato. They are…somewhat dangerous."

Tazuna looked scared out of his wits, "If you were not skewered to pieces, why did you let your genin handle them?"

Kakashi eye smiled, "I had to test them how they would perform in the field. Besides, I had to find out who they were attacking. Us because of the grudge between our villages, or you", he finished with a serious expression.

At that moment, the ninja with one horn, the one whom Naruto had knocked out, seemed to waked up. He groaned in pain, "How…did you know….we were going to attack?"

Naruto spoke up before Kakashi could, "A puddle on a completely sunny day, added to the fact it hasn't rained in weeks. Well done, genius", he sarcastically clapped.

Sakura let out a light giggle at this. Naruto's snark was funny when it was aimed at others. Kakashi narrowed his eye at Tazuna, "We need to talk."

Tazuna adopted a nervous expression, "About wh-what?"

"It was stated in the mission scroll that you needed protection from bandits, not rogue ninjas. Especially from Kirigakure, where the ninjas complete their missions, no matter the cost. Why would they be after you?" his tone was light, but the suspicion was heavy.

"Unless they were hired specifically to take you out", Naruto added his two cents, pointing at Tazuna.

Tazuna tried to think up an excuse, but it was already too late. With a resigned sigh, he asked them, "Have you heard of a man called Gato?"

Kakashi questioned with a thoughtful frown, "Do you mean one who is among the richest men in the nations? That Gato?"

"I've heard of him", Naruto stated. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, silently asking to elaborate. "He is the owner of a shipping company. When I last read about him, he was among the top fifteen richest in the nations. Suspected for criminal activity, but no proof", he said with his arms crossed.

"The very same", Tazuna agreed. "Though now he is among the top five. He came to Wave Country a bit more than two years ago. First we didn't think anything about it, but soon he had bought up all the shipping industry of our nation. You see, Wave Country is an island so we are dependent on the shipping to get goods. But that wasn't the worst part. He used his monopoly to drain the country dry."

"The people live in poverty. Many lost their houses to Gato. Whoever protested is killed. He takes what he wants with his hired thugs, making sure nobody dares to oppose him. His shipping business covers his criminal activities. He deals with drugs, alcoholics, rare goods, even slaves. Everything and anything that brings him money. The only thing he fears is the bridge I'm building. If I finish my bridge, his monopoly will be rendered obsolete and our country will be back in business because we will be connected to the main land."

"So why didn't you just tell the truth to Hokage-sama?" Kakashi glared at him.

Tazuna threw his hands up, "I couldn't! Wave country has been sucked dry. We don't have enough money to pay for more than a C-rank mission!"

Kakashi shook his head, "While that is sad, you had no right to lie to the Hokage. This mission is now at least a B-rank, requiring a team of chunin and jonin. This is not a job my genin are suited to perform!"

Glancing at his students briefly, he said, "But as they are ninjas of Konoha, they have a say in this as much as I do now."

He then turned to his students, "What do you think we should do?"

Naruto was the first to answer, "Protocol dictates that during times like these, the assigned genin team is to immediately abandon the mission and report back to the village for reassignment."

Sasuke glared at Naruto, but before he could speak Naruto continued, "But I say we continue, Kakashi-sensei. This mission is not just about Tazuna wanting to save money. A whole country is about to lose the last shreds of its economy because of one man who wants too much."

Surprisingly, Sasuke brought up a good point, "And we can't afford to let people think that Konoha will let a country fall to such a man. I say we continue, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi looked at the two genin and then at Sakura, who still looked a bit scared. "What about you, Sakura?"

Sakura looked less scared than before, but still scared. "I-I say we g-go forward, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi gazed at her a moment longer. He sighed and then said, "Very well, let's go."

They missed Tazuna's sigh of utter relief.