The morning after the Kurosawa mission, I was at Training Ground 6, running laps, when Naruto came barreling through the trees like a wild animal.
"RYŪ! RYŪ! GUESS WHAT!"
"You Found your parents?"
"NO! WE GOT A C-RANK MISSION!"
He was bouncing uu and down. His headband was crooked. He looked like he hadn't slept.
"Old man hokage," he said, gasping. "He gave us a Escort mission. Some old drunk guy needs protection while he builds a bridge."
"A bridge?."
"Yeah! In some place called... Wave? Wave Country? I dunno. But it's a C-RANK finally not a Trash D-Rank!"
I stopped running. Wave Country. Tazuna. The bridge.
This is it.
«The Wave Arc, Zabuza Momochi, Haku, and Gato as the antagonist's in this Arc»
Hmm.
«Are you going to interfere?»
Nah I don't know yet. Let's see how things play out.
"That's great, Naruto," I said. "When do you leave?"
"In an hour! Kakashi-sensei said to meet at the gate!"
"Then why are you here?"
"I wanted to tell you!" He grabbed my shoulders. "I'm gonna be a real ninja now! Real missions! And Real fights!"
"Just don't die."
"I WON'T DIE!"
"Yeah... You'll probably die."
"SHUT UP!"
He ran off. Yelling. Waving his arms.
I watched him go.
JARVIS. Keep track of his chakra signature. If it drops too low, I want to know.
«I will monitor him. But once he leaves my detection range I won't Be able to track him.»
---
= Training Ground 6, Later =
I found Yamato standing in the middle of the clearing, arms crossed, waiting.
"You're early," he said.
"I was just training, I basically live here."
"That's sad."
He ignored me. "What do you want to train today?"
I thought about Zabuza, he uses Water Release mostly... Only Earth Release really counters Water.
"I need an offensive Earth technique."
Yamato raised an eyebrow. "Offensive?"
"Yeah. I've got Hiding Like a Mole. Practice Brick. Earth and Stone Dragon. Tearing Earth Turning Palm. But nothing that hits hard."
He stared at me for a second. "You learned all those from the library?"
"And from scrolls I definitely obtained legally."
"Definitely?"
"Absolutely."
He sighed. Rubbed his temples.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet. It's not pure offense, you need a mud source."
"I haven't learned that one."
"Obviously. Watch."
He walked to a clear area. Formed hand signs. Ram. Horse. Dragon.
«Thought acceleration.»
The world slowed down. Yamato's chakra flowed through his arms, into the ground. Mud bubbled up from the earth, formed into a dragon head. Mud balls shot out, slammed into a tree. The bark cracked.
«Technique scanned. Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet. Hand signs: Ram → Horse → Dragon. Description: Creates a mud source, forms a dragon head, shoots mud balls at opponent. Combination with fire technique increases lethality. Uploading to user's motor cortex.»
Got it.
Yamato turned around. "Now you try."
I made the hand signs. Ram. Horse. Dragon.
Mud bubbled up. A dragon head formed. Mud balls shot out. Hit the same tree. Bark cracked.
Yamato's eye twitched.
"you sure You've never done that before?."
"First time."
"You just watched me do it once."
"well... I'm a fast learner."
He stared at me for a long moment. I could see him doing the math in his head. Trying to figure out how a twelve-year-old could copy a B-rank technique after seeing it once.
"You're either a genius or... Yeah a genius," he said.
"I know right I'm So Cool."
---
= Team 7 =
The road to Wave Country was quiet. Too quiet.
Kakashi noticed the puddle first. A small pond on the side of the road. In summer?. Where no rain had fallen in a week.
He didn't say anything. Just kept walking.
Naruto was complaining. "Why do we have to walk so far? Can't we take a cart? Or a horse? Orr"
"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke said.
"YOU SHUT UP, Duck butt!"
Sakura was too busy staring at Sasuke to notice anything. Tazuna was drunk as usual. Kakashi was reading his book.
They passed the puddle.
Suddenly Two chains shot out. Wrapped around Kakashi. Pulled tight.
SQUELCH.
Kakashi's body fell apart. Pieces scattered on the ground.
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Sakura screamed.
Naruto's eyes went wide. Sasuke's hands went to his kunai.
The two attackers, wrapped in bandages, metal claws on their hands, stood over the body parts.
"One down," one of them said.
"Two to go," the other replied.
Then Kakashi's voice came from the trees. "You shouldn't celebrate so early."
The demon brothers spun around.
"Substitution," Kakashi said. "Basic technique. You really thought I'd die that easily? Nah I'd win"
Naruto stopped panicking. His face went cold.
"Naruto" Sakura started.
He was already moving.
Shadow clones exploded around the demon brothers. Not one. Fifteen of em. They swarmed the first brother, grabbed his arms, his legs, his head.
Sasuke was moving too. Kunai in each hand. He engaged the second brother, metal claws against his kunai's.
Naruto's clones pinned the first brother to the ground. The real Naruto appeared above him, fist raised.
"WHO'S NEXT?!"
Sasuke disarmed the second brother. Kunai at his throat.
"Don't move."
Kakashi walked out of the trees. Book closed. Eye serious.
"Demon brothers. Chūnin, Bounty: twelve million each." He looked at Naruto. Sasuke. Sakura. "Good work."
Sakura was still shaking. "But... Kakashi-sensei... you..."
"I'm fine. It was a substitution."
"You let us think you were dead!"
"It was a test."
"THAT'S A HORRIBLE TEST!"
Kakashi ignored her. Walked over to Tazuna.
"The mission was C-rank. But these are chūnin-level assassins. That makes it at least B-rank. Want to explain something?"
Tazuna looked at the ground. Then at the demon brothers. Then at Kakashi.
"Gatō," he said. "A shipping magnate. He's taken over Wave Country. He sent the assassins."
Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Why?"
"He doesn't want the bridge finished. Without it, he controls all trade and land of the Waves is his."
"You should have told us."
"If I told you the truth, you wouldn't have taken the mission. I don't have money for a higher rank."
Kakashi was quiet for a second looked at Naruto and Sasuke
They both nodded. Then: "We'll continue. But the mission just got more dangerous."
Tazuna bowed his head. "Thank you."
Kakashi made a hand sign. Poof. A small dog appeared. Pakkun.
"Take a message to the Hokage," Kakashi said. "Request backup. Tell him we're in Wave, facing Gatō's forces. Send whoever's available."
Pakkun nodded. then Vanished.
"Now," Kakashi said, "let's move. We're not safe here."
---
= Konoha – Hokage's Office =
Hiruzen read the message twice.
Pakkun sat on his desk, waiting.
"Team 7," Hiruzen muttered. "Of course."
He set down the paper. Puffed his pipe.
"Find Team 11. Tell them to come immediately."
The ANBU in the corner of the room vanished.
---
= Training Ground 6 =
I was "practicing" some other jutsu he tried to teach me. Making it look like I was struggling. Messing up the hand signs and other stuff.
Yamato was watching. His face said "I know you already mastered this but I can't prove it."
The ANBU appeared between us Silently.
"Yamato-san. The Hokage requests you and your genin. Immediately.
Yamato looked at me. "What did you do?"
"Why do you assume I did something?"
"Because it's always you."
"That's not fair."
"Life's not fair."
We headed to the tower.
---
Hiruzen didn't waste time.
"Team 7's mission escalated. They're in Wave Country. Facing a wealthy criminal named Gatō and his hired assassins. Kakashi requested backup."
He slid a scroll across the desk.
"You leave within the hour. Pack for combat."
Yamato picked up the scroll. Read it. Nodded.
"Understood."
"Any questions?" Hiruzen looked at me.
"When do we leave?"
"Now."
---
= Departure =
Yamato set a fast pace. Not sprinting, the kind of pace that eats miles without destroying your legs like a leg day.
I kept up easily. Gravity seal turned down at 50x. Storage seal full of supplies. Weapons. Explosive tags. Medical kits.
"Stay close," Yamato said. "We don't know what's waiting."
"Who's We" I murmured.
thankfully he didn't hear it.
---
END CHAPTER 29
Xx-----xX
A/N: Leave some power stones and if you don't... I'll sent big Tyrone your house :)
---
Btw if you want to read some advance chapters then check out my P@treøn, links in the synopsis.