Chapter 4: C-Rank Mission? Yeah, right.

"Yo," greeted Kakashi with a two-fingered salute the moment he arrived in a cloud of smoke and a swirl of leaves.

Naruto looked at him with wide eyes. "Woah! You are actually on time?"

Hinata, who was at his side, nodded in agreement with her crush's question.

Sasuke, leaning against the railing of the bridge with his arms crossed, also raised an eyebrow at the jonin.

Kakashi sweatdropped. "I was late only yesterday and the day before yesterday and that was to rile you up as part of the test. Did you really expect me to always be late for all our meetings?"

Three simultaneous nods were his answer.

Naruto went even further. "You kind of have a reputation for it, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed despondently. That was depressing. He shook his head and rose from his crouching position on the railing of the bridge he had appeared on and hopping to the floor. "Let's just go to the training grounds. We have some training to do before we go and pick our first mission as a team."

When he heard the word 'training', Sasuke got a visible air excitement and eagerness around him as he hastily followed Kakashi.

Naruto and Hinata exchanged amused looks before they followed as well.

Kakashi led them until they were standing in front of the three wooden poles that were in the middle of the main clearing of the training ground before turning towards them. "Alright. As you know, teamwork is the base of any successful team. That's we first going to learn what each one of you is capable of at the moment. That way we can determine not only personalized training regimes for the future but also training sessions focused on building your efficiency as a team. Understood?"

Hinata and Sasuke simply nodded at his words, though Sasuke was obviously more interested in the 'personalized training regime' part.

Outwardly, Naruto gave an enthusiastic thumb up. Inwardly, he felt a bit of pride from the Minato in him. 'It's good to see that he is going to implement what was taught to him. Perhaps this isn't going to be as bad as bad as I thought it would be.'

"Sasuke, yo go first," said Kakashi, motioning towards the Uchiha.

"Hn," grunted Sasuke before he gave a summary of his own skills. "Katon ninjutsu, taijutsu and shurikenjutsu are my strong suits. I am also delving into genjutsu in reparation for when my Sharingan eventually awakens," he said, a self-satisfied expression on his face.

Kakashi nodded before motioning towards Hinata.

With a shy smile, she spoke. "I am proficient in the Juken, my clan's taijutsu style, and can perform some of the advanced techniques successfully. My Byakugan allows me to essentially see chakra, gives me a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision and a range of one hundred and fifty meters when I activate it. Lately, I've also been reading on Iryojutsu (Medical Techniques) so it won't be long before I can also use my chakra to heal simple wounds."

Kakashi smiled at her, showing his approval, before turning towards Naruto.

The blond smirked. "I'm good a taijutsu, shurikenjutsu and Kenjutsu, using both kunai and these," he said before flicking his wrists, deploying the hidden blades. While Kakashi and Hinata merely looked at them in interest, Sasuke was visibly envious. "I have a lot of chakra, and when I say a lot, it's a lot. So much that I can't do a simple Bunshin. However, I got my chakra chains and a few techniques I picked up from the Forbidden Scroll that allow me to make the best of the amount of chakra I have. And finally, I've become proficient enough in fuinjutsu to make some nasty traps."

Kakashi gave another nod, taking notice of Sasuke's envy but not commenting on it. "Perfect. It seems like you guys have the potential to be a first response and heavy assault team, with Hinata being the close-range fighter and scout, Sasuke being a close-to-mid range fighter and Naruto being the one that can engage the enemy at all ranges, cover the bases of everyone and the main ambusher," he said thoughtfully before nodding to himself. "We will go into more detail about your abilities later. For now, we are going make sure you three have a solid foundation to build up on your abilities. Who knows surface sticking and water walking?"

When Hinata and Naruto raised their hands, and Sasuke only looked confused and even more envious, Kakashi gave a mental sigh of wariness. Whomever said that being a teacher was easy must have been a fraud. And they didn't have to deal with two potential ticking time-bombs that could very much put the entire village in peril.

Sometimes, Kakashi seriously hated his job.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Training Ground 43 – Two Weeks Later)

Naruto had a lazy smirk on his face as he leaned his back against one of the trees that were at the edge of the clearing in TG43. His eyes were closed and his right leg extended while his left one flexed slightly towards his torso as he sat there.

The past to weeks since becoming an official genin have been… productive… to use an appropriate term. Even though he considered that D-Rank missions should be assigned to Academy students on their last years and a waste of his time, the fact that they were done with two or three of them in no more than three hours every day, Naruto felt that he couldn't complain too much about the time he spent with his team.

Kakashi proved to be a surprisingly efficient jonin sensei. After he had gotten Sasuke to learn both surface sticking and water walking in just four days, the former taking one and the latter taking three, he had begun working on their foundations. That meant, improving on what they already knew and correcting any mistake they had individually.

He had Hinata focus on developing her taijutsu further and finish mastering the more advanced techniques she already knew how to do. He also encouraged her studies into becoming a medical ninja, going so far as to acquire for her some scrolls that went into more detail about using chakra to heal injuries, the use of medicinal herbs and poisons and the symptoms they provoked. Hinata already had a profound knowledge of the human anatomy and physiology due to her training to effectively use her Byakugan, so what she needed was what Kakashi had provided for her.

After working on Sasuke's chakra control, Kakashi had him work on increasing the strength of his Katon Ninjutsu. He also worked on correcting and improving his taijutsu by sparring daily with him and was also aiding him into his studies of genjutsu. Kakashi had not told him that he also possessed the Sharingan, but it was only a matter of time before that happened. Perhaps when Sasuke awakened his own.

And with Naruto, other than sparring with him and giving him a few pointers here and there, Kakashi allowed him to do as he pleased in regards to his own individual training. Kakashi had quickly noticed that because of 'him being on his own for so long', Naruto already knew what he needed to work on in order to improve himself. Kakashi allowed him to do his own thing as long as he didn't slack off and kept the team up to date with his development, to which Naruto easily agreed.

They would never know the real reason behind Naruto's ability to largely train on his own. Having the knowledge of the likes of Kushina, Minato and Kurama… it was self-explanatory.

However, what Kakashi really focused on, was team building exercises and training sessions, much to Sasuke's very visible chagrin and displeasure.

Under Kakashi's instructions, the three of them had quickly found their roles within the team. Hinata was the close-range fighter, combat-medic and scout, the roles perfect for her due to her focus on taijutsu, innate talent for chakra control and the abilities of her Byakugan. Sasuke was the close-to-mid range fighter, his abilities of ninjutsu and taijutsu allowed him to be the correct one for that role.

And Naruto was the essentially the jack-of-all-trades that could fit into any role. His taijutsu was good enough to allow him to fight at the same level as Hinata when she activated her Byakugan. With his ninjutsu he could scout and fight at mid and long range. With his chakra chains he could also capture and subdue enemies. And with his knowledge of fuinjutsu he could set up traps for ambushes. He was thankful for his eidetic memories. The faces of Kakashi, Hinata and Sasuke had been priceless when he showed them what he could do with the Henge, Kawarimi, Kage Bunshin, Bunshin Daibakuha and Shuriken Kage Bunshin.

Seeing Sasuke turn green with envy had been particularly nice.

On the side of his own development, he was coming very close to the limit of how much his body could develop without weighted training. Thankfully, he had finally learned how to successfully apply the Hantai no Fuin (Resistance Seal) and the Juuyosei no Fuin (Gravity Seal) so he was ready for the moment he reached his 'natural' development limit.

He was also steadily getting more and more control over his chakra thanks to the hundreds of clones he put to the task of practicing the chakra control exercises he knew and even developing more advanced chakra control exercises, using the knowledge at his disposal. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could suppress his chakra completely, not waste any of it when using it and even possibly combine his Emotion Sensing with the ability to sense chakra to not only increase his range, but also its effectiveness.

Naruto had also managed to learn and master the Kokuangyo no Jutsu thanks to the hundreds of clones he put to the task in the past weeks. Regarding the combat oriented high-speed technique, he was developing with the Shunshin as its basis, Naruto felt that he was close to getting it right. Truthfully, he only needed to develop his body a bit more and get more control over his chakra in order to complete it. The strain it put on him required him to be at his peak and there was need for a few fine adjustments to the process of molding the chakra for the technique, so it was really a matter of time.

That was why he was taking a break for the rest of the day after just having a no-holds-barred spar against hundreds of his clones that spanned the entirety of TG43. Kakashi had given them the day off as a reward for doing beyond his expectations in the past two weeks. Normally, Naruto would have been fucking Anko silly but sadly she was on a mission outside the village. In that case, he would've been hanging out with Hinata but she was busy with clan stuff so she was also unavailable.

Sasuke wasn't even worth mentioning and the point of today was to not see Kakashi's uninterested mug as he read smut.

That meant that he had the entire day to do nothing, which was kind of nice actually.

A few moments later, Naruto's smirk widened as he felt a most welcomed weight settle right on top of his crotch. He opened his eyes to see the pretty and flushed face of Tenten looking at him with wanton lust as she straddled him. She was only wearing black short shorts and a tight tank top that enhanced her athletic and curvaceous figure and did nothing to hide the fact that she was very turned on right now.

"Hey, Ten-chan, fancy meeting you here," he greeted her as if he wasn't surprised by her presence nor by her actions. He had felt her the moment she had walked into his passive range of perception with his senses and the emotions she had given off the moment he knew she caught sight of him had pointed to the course of action she would take. Hence, he not being surprised at all.

"Naruto-kun, I've missed you," she told him huskily and longingly before she dove in for his mouth, starting an intense make-out session.

Naruto grinned into the passionate and lustful kiss before responding kind and reaching with both his hands to grab Tenten's bountiful and tight ass, giving it a hard squeeze that had Tenten moaning into Naruto's mouth in pleasure, which resulted in their tongues coming out to battle in tandem with their lips.

Naruto had met with Tenten a few times after that first time to 'spar'. And while they did actually train seriously, they both knew that it was nothing more than an excuse to do exactly what they were doing now. To both of their disappointment, Tenten had been on a mission outside the village for the past week, meaning that they had been unable to 'train' and have fun with one another for the past week.

Until now that is.

"When did you come back?" Asked Naruto the moment she pulled back from their kiss since she needed to breath. He kept kneading her wonderful ass, however, much to her visible delight.

"Yesterday evening," she answered with a pant before she began to slowly grind her crotch into his own, making the two of them groan at the extremely pleasurable sensation. "The only reason I didn't lose my mind for having to constantly deal with Neji's arrogance and Gai-sensei's and Lee's was because I was thinking of you," she admitted, her face becoming redder, both because of her admission and what she was doing.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, smirked and began to match Tenten's movements with his own, noticeably increasing the sensations they were feeling as his dick started to get hard. "Is that so? I didn't think I left such a lasting impression on you," he said with amusement.

Tenten wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a half-lidded glare. She decided to ignore that and focused more on the amount of pleasure she was feeling. S-so… ho-how have you been?" She asked him between pants and moans as she steadily increased the intensity of her grinding.

"Mm, you know. I've been training with my team, by myself and fucking Anko-chan every chance I get," he said, grunting and then smirking as Tenten got even more frantic with her movements the moment he mentioned having sex with Anko. "Even though dealing with Sasuke Uchiha is a pain, Hinata-chan more than makes up for it."

Tenten's entire face was red now. "… Do you have her on your sights as well?" She asked him as her arousal grew by the second. She had been surprised when he told her that he was regularly fucking, and even living with, Anko Mitarashi, though not vastly so considering that she knew the woman was a promiscuous pervert that had been trying to get into her own pants ever since she met her. Thus, it was not surprising that she had sunk her fangs into a hunk like Naruto and had her pay her with sex for letting him live with her.

What was even more surprising, however, was the fact that it seemed like Anko was encouraging Naruto to get more female lovers, for both their sake, since Naruto's sexual appetite was immense and Anko was a bisexual pervert that was perpetually horny, more so now that she found a more-than-worthy man to give herself to. And apparently, it had been Anko who had pointed Naruto in her direction when he asked her for a place where he could buy quality equipment at a fair price, in the hopes he ensnared her in his web as well.

Tenten didn't know whether to curse Anko or to eat her pussy in gratitude. Though, she suspected that soon enough she would do the latter…

Tenten herself was attracted to both males and females and that played a major role in her being more than okay with Naruto getting an harem for himself. After sparring with him a few times, she knew that she had no hope of satisfying him on her own. The fact she would get to enjoy both, the perfect man in Naruto and a bunch of beautiful girl, made the prospect of being a part of Naruto's harem rather attractive.

Naruto grinned at her. "Who? Hinata-chan? I think it would be more accurate to say that I am on her sights. And guess what?" He asked her as he leaned in to whisper on her ear before giving her ass a hard smack that hurt as much as it gave her pleasure, making Tenten moan in delight. "Her friends, Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno, also want a piece of me. And they are more than willing to share."

Tenten's eyes widened at his words. She looked at him with a frantic, lustful expression on her face. "FUCK ME! FUCK ME NOW!" She demanded of him, screaming like a wanton slut nymphomaniac as she grinded her crotch frantically into him.

Naruto laughed. "Of course," he said before he ripped off Tenten's short in a casual show of his strength, which only turned Tenten even more if that was possible. Then, he grabbed her ass and lifted her up just enough to allow Tenten to tug down his pants and reveal is rock hard cock.

Tenten marveled at the immense size of it and moaned like a bitch in heat when she couldn't wrap her entire hand around it. She used her hold on it to aim the bulbous head directly to her entrance before she began to slowly sink herself on it, face contorting in pleasure as she was stretched deliciously. She had no fear for pain of discomfort since she had broken her hymen while training and she had already introduced a dildo, not as big as Naruto's dick admittedly, when masturbating.

"Oh! Fuck… yeah…" she moaned as her entire body shuddered as she experienced a mini orgasm when she managed to take Naruto's entire cock. Her walls were stretched completely and the head was kissing her cervix.

Naruto smirked as he grunted in pleasure, the walls of Tenten's vagina tightening repeatedly around him. "And you have barely felt anything yet!" He declared before he began to use his hands on her ass and his hips to star fucking Tenten.

Throwing her head back, Tenten shrieked in delight as her hips began to aid Naruto with the process of her riding him.

As Naruto grabbed a handful of her tank top and ripped it off, revealing her bouncing tits, and taking one of her diamond hard nipples into his mouth and start sucking on it, which result in Tenten experiencing her first of many orgasms of that day, one thought went through Naruto's head.

'This is way better than doing nothing for the entire day.'

XXXXXXXXXX

(With Hinata)

While she indeed had to tend to some duties with her clan, Hinata was finished with them at around noon. While she would have loved to spend the rest of the day with Naruto, she had not spent a significant amount of time with her two best friends. She couldn't afford to neglect them like that, much less if it was to spend time with the guy the three of them liked and had essentially agreed to share between them.

Doing that was a formula for drama that truthfully, none of them found the least bit attractive.

Curiously enough, the three of them also had the day off as well. It made them suspect that their three jonin sensei had gotten together and had agreed to give them the day off after discussing their progress. Not that they were complaining.

They met at Sakura's house, because her parents wouldn't be there and that meant a healthy amount of privacy. and the three worked together to prepare lunch, each one of them being capable enough of the kitchen thanks to Sakura's mom, Ino's mom and the maids at Hinata's house, who were more than willing to teach them culinary techniques when they had requested it.

"Say, Hina…" Ino trailed off as she laid prone across Sakura's bed, her cute feet merrily kicking up in the air as she gave Hinata a saucy smirk. "What is it like to be on the same team as the hunk known as Naruto Uzumaki? Can you get some actual training and missions done or you two are to busy trying to get into each other's pants?"

Blushing, Sakura gave the blonde a reproachful look from where she was seating with her back pressed against the headboard of her bed and her knees pulled up to her chest. "Ino! Don't say it like that…" she trailed off before giving Hinata her own curiously look. "Though, I wonder…"

Despite her entire face being red, Hinata gave a happy smile. "N-no, Ino-chan," she said, though inwardly she thought, 'I wish,' which only resulted in her embarrasment increasing. "But it's better than anything I could imagine," was the only thing she could say as she sighed in happiness.

"Look at her, Sakura, being all smug," said Ino in amusement, motioning towards Hinata who was laying on her back by her side, before groaning as her face fell. "I wish I could change teams. I mean, despite being a chain-smoker, Asuma-sensei is kind of cool, I guess. But Shikamaru and Choji are so lazy that if it wasn't for Asuma-sensei and I kicking them into gear, they would spend the entire day doing nothing and eating."

"It seems like I got a bit luckier than you, Ino," said Sakura with some amusement as she smiled. "Even though Kiba is a blatant pervert both towards me and Kurenai-sensei, she only has to use a quick genjutsu to get him to behave. Shino is quiet and rational, and even though I find his bugs a bit disgusting, I get along well with him. And Kurenai-sensei is wonderful! I think she prefers me over the others because she claims my potential for Genjutsu is perhaps better than her own!"

Ino groaned and glared at her two best friends. "I hate you both."

Hinata giggled.

Sakura rolled her eyes and scoffed. "No, you don't," she deadpanned, her emerald eyes glinting with her amusement.

Ino clicked her tongue in clearly fake annoyance before adopting a curious expression. "Well, whatever. Have you learned anything new in the past few weeks?"

Hinata nodded her head, her face having regained its normal color. "Yes. With the aid of Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-kun I managed to improve my taijutsu and chakra control even more, increase my chakra capacity significantly and finally mastered the Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms) and the Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm). Tomorrow I will start training to learn the Hakkeshō Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven). And I finally learned how to use chakra to heal minor injuries and even though it'll take some time before I can heal more complicated ones, Kakashi-sensei is encouraging me to become a combat medic as well."

"That's great, Hinata!" Complimented Sakura, Ino nodding in agreement. "I've also improved my taijutsu and chakra control with the help of Kurenai-sensei and I have learned a few low ranked genjutsu from her. She says that I need to increase my chakra capacity and chakra control before I can learn more advanced ones. And now that you mention it, she also told me she wants me to learn medical ninjutsu as well. Can you teach me some of what you know, Hinata?"

Hinata smiled at the almost pleading expression on the face of her pink-haired best friend. "Of course, Sakura-chan," she said before turning towards Ino with a curious look on her face. "And what about you, Ino-chan?"

The blonde only gave a long-suffering sigh. "I finally figured out how to sense chakra without consciously focusing on trying to do so, but other than that, I've only been able improve my taijutsu, chakra control and the amount of chakra I have. I've been meaning to start learning how to use senbon and increase my knowledge on poisons beyond flora related ones but Asuma-sensei keeps on insisting that learning combination techniques is more important now," she complained with a pout as she glared at the ceiling and crossed her arms underneath her breasts.

Sakura had a sympathetic expression on her face as she began to run her hands through Ino's lustrous hair in a comforting fashion. "There, there, Ino. I'm sure things will get better," she said, going along with Ino making the situation bigger than what it was.

"Well…" Hinata trailed off and when she got the attention of her friends she continued. "Naruto-kun told me that he has friend that is a Tokubetsu Jonin and works at the T&I department who is willing to help me figure out how to implement my natural flexibility into the Juken. I recall him saying that she also specializes in using poisons so I can as him if she is also willing to help you, Ino-chan."

Ino's eyes sparkled and she smiled beatifically at the bluenette. "Would you do that for me?" Hinata simply nodded with a smile. "Yay! You are the best, Hina!" Ino shouted before she twisted her body and climbed on top of Hinata so she could happily wrap her arms around her and rub her cheeks against her, their legs intertwining and their breasts squishing together.

Hinata's entire red became red again as she reflexively wrapped her own arms around the blonde's slender body. "Ino-chan!"

Sakura just sighed at Ino's antics before raising an eyebrow at Hinata. "You think I can join in as well? You said that Naruto-kun helped you increase your chakra capacity and I want that is one of the things I need to work on."

Hinata managed to get over her embarrasment at Ino's actions, who by the way was still latched on to her and showering her with affection, to answer Sakura. "Ye-yes, of course, Sa-Sakura-chan! At what ti-time do you nor-normally finish me-meeting with your team?"

Sakura made a 'so-so' gesture with her hand. "At around mid-afternoon at the latest."

Ino stopped her actions for a moment to add her own two cents. "Me too!" She declared before going back to nuzzling Hinata.

"The-then we will meet at Training Ground 43 after we are finished with our team meetings. That is were Naruto-kun goes to get some extra training done after our own meetings are done and nobody else goes there according to him so we will be able to make the most of it," she said, resigning herself to just let Ino do as she pleased until she got tired or escalated things even further.

Ino perked up at her words and pushed herself up a bit so she could look at Hinata and Sakura with excitement in her eyes. "Hinata-chan, are you telling me that we are going to be spending a few hours everyday with only us and Naruto-kun in a place that nobody goes to?"

Hinata eyed Ino with a bit of confusion before slowly nodding her head. "Yes. Although Mitarashi-san is also going to be there…"

Ino ignored everything Hinata said other than her affirmative answer to her question. "Then, do you what that means, right?!" She asked, a grin tugging at the corner of her rosy lips.

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Out with it, Ino! Where are you going with this?"

Blood started to trail down Ino's nose as a blush appeared on her cheeks and a dreamy expression appeared on her face. "It means that we can finally start the plan to successfully become Naruto-kun's harem!"

Hinata squeaked as her face became red and steam began to purr out her ears.

Sakura's eyes glazed over as blood also began to leak down her nose.

Ino could only start laughing in delight as she imagined the many… interesting… things that waited for her and her best friends. After all, according to Hinata, Naruto was 'more than man enough' to handle the three of them on his own. She couldn't wait to get a piece of him.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Training Ground 43 – A Few Days Later)

Naruto stood completely naked in the middle of the main clearing of the training ground with two clones, wearing clothes, stood in front of and behind him holding a brush and a sealed pot of ink each. He had finally reached the limit of development his body could reach without using weighted training. Thanks to his 'transformation', the level he could physically reach was that of a Kage level shinobi, which was the level a normal person could eventually reach using weighted training.

Using the resistance seal and gravity seal, Naruto could very well eventually surpass by a large margin the likes of Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha and Minato Namikaze, as far as physical performance was involved. He should know, considering that one of the above mentioned as a part of him and another part of him had personally dealt with and faced the other two.

Taking advantage of the fact that Hinata was currently at the entrance of TG43 waiting for Ino and Sakura, Naruto decided to apply the resistance seal now. He would first use that one and then he would use the gravity seal after he finished the ten levels of the first one. According to Minato's knowledge, it was the most effective method to go about using them. Even though it also built strength, the resistance seal focused more on building speed, stamina and reaction time, by making his body experiment different levels of, well, resistance when moving in accordance to his current level of physical development. For example, at level one he would feel like moving through water, at level two it would be like moving through gel, at level three would be like moving through mud and so on.

When he finished with the ten levels of the resistance seal, he would apply the gravity seal, which would artificially increase how his body interacted with Earth's gravitational pull, weighting him down in accordance to how physically developed his body was the moment he applied it. That was why it was best to use it last. The gravity seal was all about building physical strength and speed. It also had three levels, with the next doubling the amount of weight he was under in the previous one.

It was after he finished training under the resistance seal and gravity seal that he would be able to withstand the strain of using the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique). There was a reason why the likes of Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kage level shinobi with the necessary knowledge of fuinjutsu to develop their own instantaneous movement space/time technique, didn't even bother to try and learn them. They were already past the point they could develop their body further after all.

Naruto nodded at the clone in front of him and spread his arms at his side. "Go ahead," he said simply.

The two clones nodded, unsealed the ink pots and dipped theirs brushes into them before they began to apply the resistance seal to Naruto's body. The seal consisted of the main matrix, a circle made of kanji and symbols at which center would be displayed, when visible, the level in which he was at, located on his epigastrium and several lines of more complex symbols and kanji that would go all over his body in a circular fashion, as if wrapped at different intervals around him, that originated from the main matrix and expanded outwards to the rest of his body.

With the proficiency he gained by putting hundreds of clones for many weeks on this task, his two clones applied the complex seal perfectly in about ten minutes, which was astounding considered that it had taken hours for Kushina to apply it to Minato when he had requested it of her. Of course, one had to consider that Kushina had been very distracted at the time, since Minato had been as naked as Naruto was now as well, but still…

The moment the clones finished applying the seals, they disappeared in a burst of smoke, their memories confirming that the seal had been applied perfectly. Naruto then made a ram hand seal and channeled his chakra into the main matrix in order to activate it. The drying process of the ink quickened before the symbols glowed a bright red. A moment later, the kanji for 'one' appeared in the middle of the circle made by the main matrix before the symbols stopped glowing and seemingly disappeared from Naruto's skin, which would conceal the fact that he was using the resistance seal.

Naruto lowered his arms and moved around a bit with seemingly no difficulty to any onlooker. He knew different, however. 'Ah, it seems like it's working like it should. By my estimation, if I push myself, I would be able to perform at High-Chunin level. Beyond that I would have to enhance myself with chakra. That's convenient. Now it would be easier to manage the 'fast-but-not-ridiculous' pace of growth without consciously holding myself back until I can believably explain the extent of my abilities. Ugh, the length one most go in order to not deal with annoying and noisy people,' Naruto thought to himself with satisfaction as he quickly clothed himself and put away the brushes and ink pots by sealing them into one of the scrolls that were strapped to his left thigh.

That was when the clone he had observing Hinata dispelled, indicating that Ino and Sakura had arrived and where on their way here. For a moment, Naruto wondered about the perfect timing before shrugging his shoulders. Weirder things had happened before.

Taking advantage of the few minutes he had before they actually arrived where he was, Naruto created six hundred clones. Two hundred would continue his training in chakra control, two hundred would continue working on developing the muscle memory he needed to write all the seals he knew and the last two hundred would continue working on the high-speed technique. He decided he wouldn't start learning new things until he got the latter two done. Training his chakra control he felt would be a constant thing in the foreseeable future, so he didn't consider that when learning new things was involved.

He directed them to go as far as into the training ground as they could, in order to both hide just how many clones he could make and to not interrupt his normal routine while he trained Hinata, Ino and Sakura. As much as he preferred to spend his time with three beautiful girls and grow close, closer in Hinata's case, that didn't mean that he had to put a hold on his own path to strength.

Naruto put a wide smile on his face as he waved at the incoming girls. "Hinata-chan! Ino! Sakura! Hello!"

"Naruto-kun!" Shouted back Ino with a grin and a wave of her own as she quickly jogged towards Naruto until she stood right in front of him. She smiled coyly as she leaned forward a bit and clasped her hands behind her. "Did you miss me? It's been about two weeks since we saw each other after all."

Naruto blinked before giving her a smile. "Of course, Ino! Who wouldn't miss someone as beautiful and nice as you?" He asked rhetorically.

Ino beamed happily at him as she blushed. "Teehee!" She giggled before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and giving him a peck on the cheek as she hung a bit from his side, which was possible considering the height difference between them. "And it's Ino-chan to you, go it?"

Naruto just laughed as he wrapped his right arm loosely around her to keep her in place. "Of course, Ino-chan," he agreed easily before turning towards the other two who had finally approached them. Hinata was just smiling gently, her normal expression, while Sakura looked a bit annoyed. Naruto wasn't worried, however. Sakura always looked that annoyed whenever Ino was involved. "What's up?"

"Ino! Stop hanging off him!" Scolded Sakura, getting a pout from who ultimately released her hold on her fellow blond, before turning towards Naruto with a small blush of her own as she smiled a at him. "Hello, Naruto-kun. How are you doing?"

"I'm good! Better now that I am surrounded by very beautiful girls like you three," he said with a laugh. The three girls became a bit embarrassed and very happy at his compliment to their looks. It didn't matter how much some denied it, girls liked to have their appearance appreciated and commented on. Especially if it was from whom they liked.

Naruto continued talking, seemingly not paying attention to the effect his words had on them. "It's good to see that you want to partake on extra training beyond what you already do with your jonin sensei and team. It speaks well of your determination to be the best and that's a trait worth admiring," he continued showering them with compliments, making the girls become even happier than before.

Hinata was the first one to recover, having gotten used to Naruto's trait of unknowingly complimenting those he felt deserved it. "Where is Mitarashi-san, Naruto-kun? Is she going to be late due to her duties?" She asked. Hinata knew that was a possibility so she wasn't annoyed. She was asking so they could start training and not waste any time waiting for her. Naruto's habit of always wanting to do something productive had rubbed off on her.

Naruto shook her head at her question. "Not at all. She has a few days off because she just finished a high-ranking mission yesterday. So, she should be here at any time…" He trailed off before giving an exasperated, but fond, sigh. Hinata, Ino and Sakura were startled and gasped when Naruto's left arm suddenly shot up and caught a kunai by its handle, inches away from piercing his temple. "Anko-chan, what have I told you about doing things like this?"

"But Naru-kuuunn," whined a beautiful and sexy purple haired woman with light brown eyes and wearing very revealing clothes as she appeared draped all over Naruto's back, her arms wrapped around his chest and legs wrapped around his waist. Her head rested on his right shoulders as she gave an adorable pout. "How am I going to make sure that you aren't slacking off with your training, hm?"

Unfazed, Naruto merely raised an eyebrow. "How about by sparring with me not holding anything back? You know, like, any other normal person?"

Anko grinned saucily at that. "You know very well I don't do normal, Naru-kun," she said before promptly giving him a sensual and long lick from his jaw to where his cheekbone was. Naruto's only reaction was to close his eyes and sigh fondly at her antics. That was when Anko noticed the three flustered girls standing in front of them. "Oh? And just who are these three cuties? Gifts for moi? You shouldn't have, Naru-kun," she said, licking her lips sensually as she blatantly ogled the three girls.

The three genin girls grew even more embarrassed than before as they exchanged unsure looks.

Naruto gave Anko a sharp pinch in the ass that had her yelping in surprise and jumping away from him. "Play nice," he scolded her a bit before explaining. "These are Hinata-chan and Ino-chan, the girls I told you needed your help with their training, and Sakura, whom I'll be helping myself with her training."

Anko smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry, Naru-kun. You know how I get," she excused herself, not sounding apologetic at all, before turning towards the three girls with a grin on her face as she pointed at herself with a thumb. "I am the sexy and owned Anko Mitarashi. Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise, Mitarashi-san," said Hinata with a polite bow, which was mirrored to an extent by Ino and Sakura.

Anko waved that off right away. "None of that formal stuff. I hate it. Call me Anko-sensei if you must but I would really prefer it if you called me Anko-chan or Anko-nee," she said, her grin making the three girls ease up but also worry somehow. "So, what is it that you need me for? Shouldn't you be asking your jonin sensei for help?" Naruto had only told her that he needed her help to trains two friends of his. Considering that he had been balls deep inside of her when he asked her, she had been otherwise occupied when she had agreed.

Hinata spoke first. "I only need to learn how to implement my natural flexibility into my Juken style to not only make it my own and to improve my taijutsu, but to also make it so any enemy I have to face in the future that knows of my style is caught off guard by how different it is," explained Hinata. Naruto had been the one to give her the idea and after running the prospect by her father, who had wholeheartedly approved, she had agreed to do so. "Kakashi-sensei is not really suited for that."

She was followed by Ino. "I want to expand on my knowledge of poisons beyond flora-based ones and learn how to use senbon. Also, since you work in the T&I Department, can you teach me a few interrogation and information gathering techniques? I don't want to always depend on my clan techniques when I know for a fact that there are other options available," she said. There was also the fact that for now, her father wouldn't teach him more of her clan techniques until she mastered the ones she already learned. She understood why was that, but that didn't mean she wasn't annoyed by it. "Asuma-sensei can't teach me any of that."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I'm mostly here to get Naruto-kun's help in increasing my chakra capacity significantly while maintaining my level of chakra control and learning some medical ninjutsu from Hinata. Though I am not averse to improving my taijutsu and shurikenjutsu under your tutelage, Anko-sensei. Kurenai-sensei is more than capable of seeing to the rest of my training."

Anko blinked in a bit of surprise before her grin widened. "Oh… you sure know how to pick them, Naru-kun. Your Anko-chan wholeheartedly approves," she said as she sent a cheesy thumb up and wink in his direction.

Naruto smirked and shook his head fondly. "Of course, you do, Anko-chan."

"Hehe."

Hinata, Ino and Sakura smiled eagerly at each other as apparently Anko officially accepted to help with their training. They also exchanged a message with their airs after taking into consideration the interaction between Naruto and Anko since she arrived.

'They are definitely fucking each other!'

Fortunately, they also very much approved. They were a bit jealous, of course, but if Naruto had some experience before inevitably doing the deed with them, it would only make things even more pleasurable and satisfying.

"Alright! Let's waste no more time! Hina-chan! Ino-chan! Follow me!" Declared Anko before marching away towards the edge of the forest while epically pointing forward.

Hinata and Ino exchanged an amused look before following after her.

Naruto chuckled before focusing on the pink haired girl. "Alright, I guess is only you and me now, Sakura-chan," he said, motioning her to follow him as he began to walk towards the edge of the forest opposite of where Anko was heading.

"It seems so," she agreed with a nod before blushing, both at the images that came to her mind when she imagined herself alone with Naruto and what she was about to request of him. "And, I'd like if you called me Sakura-chan as well, okay?"

Naruto blinked before giving her a soft smile. "Of course, Sakura-chan," he said, chuckling when her blush intensified. "So, before we start, I have a question. Do you know how to stick to flat vertical surfaces using chakra, right? Nice. What about water walking? Even better. Then, to increase your chakra capacity in a significant manner in a short amount of time while maintaining your current level of chakra control you have to…"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Konohagakure Ninja Academy - Administrative Division – Hokage's Office – Three Weeks Later)

Hiruzen Sarutobi, with his hands clasped in front of his mouth, had a serious expression as he looked at the members of Team Seven, who were standing in the middle of his office.

Kakashi stood in front of them, his lazy and uncaring disposition as he read 'Icha-Icha Paradise' never changing. Behind him, Naruto stood in the middle of the other two with his hands shoved into his pockets and a small smile on his face. Hinata stood at his right with a matching expression while clasping her hands in front of her. Sasuke stood to Naruto's left with a bored expression on his face and arms crossed.

"It's been about a month and a half, Kakashi. Do you truly believe they are ready to start taking C-Rank missions outside the village?" He questioned as he eyed the three genin. He could tell right away that there was a significant amount of growth in both Hinata and Sasuke, the former noticeably more than the latter, and curiously enough, Naruto looked largely the same only without that fake air of formality and neutrality he had used to mask his anger towards him, which was reassuring.

Not looking up from his book, Kakashi nodded his head. "Yes, Sandaime-sama. They have grown individually beyond my expectations and already can work successfully as a team. They have been ready for a while, if I'm honest, but I wanted to make sure first. And they have already done the required amount of D-Rank missions many times over already, so…" he simply said, trailing off at the end as he idly turned a page to continue reading. Let it be known that Kakashi took the wellbeing of comrades, specially of they were his students, very seriously.

Naruto decided to add his own two cents. "Oi, Hokage-oji. Hinata-chan and I are awesome," he said with a grin, ignoring the suddenly blushing girl as she tugged at his shirt with an alarmed expression on her face. He then motioned carelessly towards Sasuke. "And I guess this guy is alright when he isn't being an asshole."

Sasuke simply glared darkly at the blond.

Iruka, who had been sitting next to Hiruzen, stood up and glared at the blond reproachfully. "Naruto! Show the Sandaime the respected he is owed!"

Hiruzen had small smile on his face as he waved Iruka to calm down. "Naruto-kun has always called me that since he was little so it's not and issue," he said, getting a grin from Naruto. Honestly, to an extent, he was more reassured by that than by Kakashi's almost daily reports on Naruto's behavior. The fact that he was in some kind of relationship with Anko Mitarashi and Tenten Higurashi, undisputably loyal kunoichi of Konohagakure, and was actively helping others with their training was the reason why he was convinced that there was nothing wrong with Naruto and had Kakashi stop keeping tabs on him.

Sasuke, however, was still a completely different story.

After shaking his head slightly, Hiruzen looked at the silver haired jonin in the eye. "Alright. I will trust your judgement, Kakashi," he said before turning towards Iruka and nodding. "Get the bridge builder," he ordered kindly.

Iruka nodded back, stood up, bowed and hastily left the office. A few moments passed before he was back with an elderly, bespectacled man with gray hair and a gray abundant beard who was wearing a sleeveless shirt, an obi and pants with sandals. He had a towel resting on his shoulders and a pointed hat on his head. "This way, Tazuna-san," said Iruka as he motioned the man forward.

Sarutobi coughed into his fist and motioned towards Team Seven as he spoke to Tazuna. "Good afternoon, Tazuna-san. Here is the team responsible of escorting you towards Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves) and protecting you while you finish the bridge."

Tazuna regarded the team with appraising eyes and he nodded his head in satisfaction. "They certainly look that they can provide superb protection! I take them!" declared Tazuna, as if he had been given the choice to taken them or leave them. It had to be said that the man had a noticeable drunken blush across his cheeks and was holding the almost empty bottle of sake that was likely the cause of his current state.

Hinata, out of politeness, just tilted her head to the side while giving Tazuna an unsure look. Naruto raised and eyebrow at him and snickered. Sasuke scoffed with some derision before looking away, his arms still closed.

Kakashi just nodded in confirmation of Tazuna's words. "Your assessment of my team would be correct, Tazuna-san. They are certainly capable…" he trailed off before giving an inquiring look to the obviously drunk man.

Tazuna waved his unoccupied hand in an uncaring fashion. "Nothing more than bandits I assure you. The building area is full of super expensive construction stuff that we use on the bridge and they have started robbing us of them. All I request is that you stay in Nami until I finish the bridge, and if it's possible, to take care of the bandits when they try to steal from us," said Tazuna with a frown on his face.

Kakashi nodded his head. "Alright then. We are going to leave first thing in the morning tomorrow. I'll pick you up from where you are staying." When Tazuna nodded that he understood, the silver haired jonin turned towards his team. "Pack up for a month's time at least with spare equipment just in case. We will meet at the east gate at seven a.m. sharp."

The three of them nodded their heads. Naruto was grinning, showing his excitement at finally going on a mission out side the village 'for the first time'. Hinata was just smiling softly as she looked at Naruto with fondness. Sasuke was smirking since he was finally going to be able to see just what he was capable off after the amount of training he did in the past month and a half.

Seeing that it was all set, Hiruzen took grabbed his pipe and lighted it up as he looked at the three genin with a serious smile on his wizened face. "This will be your first mission outside of the village. Good luck out there! Dismissed!"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Anko's Apartment – Later That Night)

"Nami no Kuni, eh?" Asked Anko as she rested her head on Naruto's right pectoral and crossed her right leg over his own, partially resting her sweat covered body on top of him. "If I am not mistaken, there are a few rumors regarding that place. Nothing to concrete because the only way to get there is by ship but enough that you should be warier than what a C-Rank mission amounts to."

Naruto gave her a curious look as he wrapped his right arm around her voluptuous body. "What kind of rumors?"

Anko frowned a bit. "Something about a magnate taking over the economy of country and terrorizing the inhabitants. Like I said, nothing too concrete," she said with a shrug of her shoulders that made her big tits jiggle.

Naruto hmmed in thought. "Well, Tazuna did say something about bandits trying to seal stuff from the bridge he was building so it's likely tied to it somehow," said Naruto with a dismissive tone of voice. Inwardly, however, he was giving the new piece of information some thought. 'A place like Nami no Kuni must rely on exporting products towards the mainland and other places as their main form of income. If someone really did take over the economy and Tazuna is trying to build a bridge then…'

Naruto trailed off as he hissed in pleasure, a sharp tug coming from his crotch area pulling him out of his thoughts. He looked down to see a glaring Tenten, with his cock halfway in her mouth, as she laid sprawled in between his parted legs. Her long hair was outside of her bun and one of her hands was wrapped around the part of his cock she still couldn't fit inside her mouth while the other was tenderly caressing his balls.

The brown-haired girl released his cock with a wet 'pop' and pouted at him as she used her hand to pump it at a fast pace. "You shouldn't be thinking about assignments when a girl is sucking your cock, Naruto-kun," she admonished him.

Naruto chuckled and reached with his left hand to affectionately rub her head. "You are right, Ten-chan. Sorry," he said before he pushed her back down to his crotch. "Now get back to it. I never said you could stop," he said and sighed as Tenten eagerly went back to sucking what she could of his cock, using her tongue to pleasure the head, and her hands to work on what her lips couldn't of his shaft and his balls.

Anko smirked and reached herself to rub Tenten's head almost as if she was a puppy. "Good girl. Aren't you a fast learner?" She said, pride sipping into her voice, probably because in the past weeks she had also been teaching Tenten everything she knew about sex, both with Naruto and with another woman. Anko then turned towards Naruto. "How long do you think before those three join us?"

By those three, Anko was talking about Hinata, Ino and Sakura.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders a bit as he smirked. "To be honest, I don't know. Oh, I'm sure Ino-chan wouldn't mind if I just bent her over and had my way with her any time I wanted and Sakura-chan would be more than willing to take me to her house every day her parents aren't there. However, I think they are waiting for Hinata-chan to make the first move. Something about her liking me first and a girl code," he said musingly, not that they told him this specifically, but he could deduce that going by his interactions with them, facial expressions and emotions.

To his amusement, both Anko and Tenten, who still had his cock in her mouth, nodded in understanding.

Anko's eyes lit up suddenly. "Why don't you take advantage of the mission outside the village and have your way with Hinata-chan?"

Naruto grinned before giving Anko's bountiful ass a harsh smack, that made her moan in both pain and pleasure, before it turned into just pleasure as he plunged two digits into her pussy and began to languidly finger her. "Anko-chan, you have the greatest of ideas," he said before starting a war of tongues with her. Tenten, for her part, became more enthusiastic with her fellatio.

'Heh. It's good to be me,' thought Naruto as he continued to experience the pleasure that was having sex with Anko and Tenten at the same time. And the best part?

This was only the beginning.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Konohagakure no Sato – Eastern Gate)

Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke stood by the gate as they waited for Kakashi and their client. Despite the fact that Kakashi turned out to be surprisingly adamant on being on time when it involved anything to do with the team, they still always had to wait a few minutes for him. The fact that he was also getting Tazuna, who had been drunk yesterday, also needed to be taken into consideration.

Sasuke had a backpack strapped to his back that looked like it weighted a significant amount. Considering that he had likely packed a worth month of things it wasn't surprising. Naruto and Hinata, however, had everything they needed sealed into scrolls. Naruto had taught Hinata, and Ino and Sakura as well, how to do it one day during their training sessions between them and Anko. The look on Sasuke's face, somehow a mix of curious but unwilling to ask, as he looked at them was amusing for both the bluenette and the blonde.

It seemed like curiosity won in the end. "Where are your stuff?" Sasuke asked, knowing that neither of his teammate were stupid enough to forget stuff like that.

Naruto grinned cheekily at him before pointing at one of the scrolls strapped to his left thigh. "Sealed them all in here. I'm sure Hinata-chan did the same since I taught her," he said, Hinata nodding in agreement from where she stood by his side. Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "Want me to teach you? It's easy."

Sasuke scoffed and looked away. "No," he said simply as he crossed his arms. He would find out how to do it on his own on get Kakashi to teach him. There was no way going to accept learning something from Naruto, whom he considered to be beneath him.

Naruto scowled at him. "Suit yourself, asshole," he said before shrugging and turning back to his conversation with Hinata, who patted his arm to calm him down from his aggravation towards Sasuke. She couldn't blame him, but it was a waste of time and energy to spend it on someone that just wasn't worth it.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait longer for Kakashi to arrive with Tazuna.

"Good morning my cute little students! Are you ready for a fantastically boring mission?" chirped Kakashi brightly as greeted his team with an eye smile. Sasuke scowled, Hinata just smiled gently and Naruto grinned while giving the silver haired jonin a thumb up. Seeing this, Kakashi walked pass them and out of the village through the gate. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's go you lazy lot. We have two days of walking ahead of us."

Sasuke sighed as he stared at Kakashi's back with an irritated expression. "…He also doesn't have a backpack," he muttered under his breath in annoyance as he followed after the jonin.

Hinata just giggled as she also began to walk out of the village.

As he felt into step next to Tazuna, Naruto noticed that he had an air of nervousness around him that wasn't there yesterday, likely because of his lack of drunkenness today. 'Hm. I wonder…'

XXXXXXXXXX

(Eastern Forests of Hi no Kuni – Late Afternoon)

Team Seven walked through a clean path of the woods as they made their way towards Nami no Kuni. They had stopped momentarily at noon to have lunch and rest for a few minutes before they were back to walking once again. They could have travelled using the tree branches and reached Nami in a few hours but Tazuna was a civilian and couldn't move like a ninja so they had to walk.

Hinata walked in front of everybody since she was functioning right now as the scout. Most ambushes came from the either the sides and from the back so her position in this formation was pretty obvious since she was also the medic of the team. Naruto and Sasuke walked at either side of Tazuna for the same reason and Kakashi walked behind them, forming a standard diamond formation around Tazuna. Kakashi had the more experience so he could spot everything out of place from his position.

Like that puddle a few yards in front of them.

Kakashi discretely signaled his team, confirming that they all had noticed the anomaly. It had not rained in weeks in Hi no Kuni so a puddle was definitely something that shouldn't be there. Knowing an ambush when he saw one and also knowing that it was a relatively low-level threat if the ambushers were idiotic enough to set such an oblivious trap, Kakashi made the call of finding out what they wanted. He signaled his team his intentions and they all nodded almost imperceptibly.

Team Seven and Tazuna passed by the puddle and just when Kakashi was passing by the obvious ambush started.

Two figures garbed in dark clothes emerged from the puddle and pounced on Kakashi, wrapping the 'surprised' silver haired jonin with a bladed chain that was connected to gauntlets that rested on the two men arms. One had a gauntlet on the left arm and the other one had a gauntlet on the right harm. They pulled their respective arm holding the gauntlet and with a grunt of exertion, the chains that had links style as shuriken shredded Kakashi, the pieces of his body falling wetly on the floor with disgusting thuds of flesh hitting the ground, Kakashi's organs could be seen painting the ground red as blood flowed out like a river.

"One down…" spoke the one with the gauntlet on his right arm as the breather he had on the lower half of his face distorted his voice, making it sound somewhat menacing and deep. He had shoulder length wild hair that was being held back by a forehead protector with two horns sticking out of it.

"… four to go," finished the other one, who had the gauntlet on the left arm and a similar breathing device on the lower half of his face. His dark eyes glared at Tazuna below his single horned forehead protector. His voice came out once again, sounding similar to the first one. "Kill the bridge builder!" He declared before the two of them charged towards the three genin, intentions more than clear.

Only for the blond to simply disappear in a flicker of movement. "What?!" The eyes of the two assassins widened when their charge was suddenly stopped as they felt like they couldn't move the arms covered by their gauntlets. They looked back to see the blond that had disappeared from their sight holding their bladed chain back with a purple glowing silver one of his own that hey swore he didn't have before.

Naruto grinned as he glared at the two of them as he tightened his hold on his chain. He produced it from his right forearm and grabbed the other end with his left hand as he pulled to hold the two of them back on his own. "Not today, bitches! Hinata-chan! Sasuke!"

Unsurprised by the sheer speed Naruto just displayed, Hinata activated her Byakugan and charged quickly towards the assassin that had a gauntlet on his right arm. His eyes widened even further when he looked into her eyes as she cocked her arm back when she stood in front of him. "Hakke Kūshō!" She shouted, her attack aimed directly towards his chest.

Sasuke quickly shook off the shock he felt at Naruto's speed and charged towards one that had the gauntlet on his left arm. The Uchiha quickly reached him and he jumped to send a kick with his left leg towards the head of the man but his initial lapse had given the man enough time to rise his arm and partially block Sasuke's quick. "Hn," scoffed Sasuke in derision before twisting his body suddenly and using his right leg to catch the surprised man cross the face with a roundhouse kick across the face.

The two assassins were sent flying back and because the chain connecting them was still being held back by Naruto, it was snapped in two when it couldn't resist the tension it was put through.

The man that Hinata attacked flew into a tree and he coughed up blood, which was seen because it came out through the filters of his breather, as the air was forced out of his lungs due to the force with which his back struck the bark of the three. He fell limply to the ground and was completely still. Hinata's attack had caused him serious internal injuries.

The one that was attacked by Sasuke managed to recover in midair since Sasuke's attack had not been as strong as Hinata's. His eyes widened when he saw the critical state of the other man. "Brother!" He shouted before turning towards the one responsible, Hinata, who was looking back at him grimly, the expression enhanced by her activated Byakugan eyes. "I'll kill you, bitch!"

"Yes, well," said a bored voice before Kakashi dropped from above and easily disarmed and restrained the man and forced him to the ground. "I think you'll find that a bit more difficult than you think," he said lazily as he made assassin groan in pain by pulling on the arm he forced behind his back, the threat to break his arm and/or dislocate his shoulder clear.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kakashi as he approached. "Who are these losers?"

"These two are known as the Oni Kyōdai (Demon Brothers), Meizu and Gozu. They are chunin level shinobi from Kirigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Mist). Not very good ones, apparently, considering how obvious their ambush was. I mean, a puddle in a sunny day when it hasn't rained in weeks? Even my cute little genin wouldn't make a mistake like that," said Kakashi as he produced some ninja wire and began to tie up the one he was restraining. "This one is Meizu. And the other one is Gozu."

Sasuke simply nodded, indicating he understood.

Naruto approached Hinata, who was crouching in front of the unconscious and bleeding Gozu, her hands glowing green as she pressed them to his chest as she looked at him with her Byakugan activated and a slight frown on her face. "Are you alright, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata simply nodded at him and smiled reassuringly. "Yes, Naruto-kun. I'm just making sure he doesn't die from the internal bleeding I caused him," she said before standing up after her hands stopped glowing with green healing chakra and deactivating her Byakugan. "Anko-neesan made sure that Ino, Sakura and I are no strangers to killing but I'd like to avoid it unless it's inevitable. Besides, both of them could have useful information for the village."

Naruto chuckled. "You are too nice sometimes, Hinata-chan. Have I told you that's one of the things I like the most about you?"

Hinata, having finally gotten used to being complimented by Naruto, simply beamed happily at him. "Yeah. Every other day, I think," she told him teasingly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hehe."

"Wait," began Tazuna after everything that happened, which barely took more than two minutes, finally registered and he sent Kakashi a wide-eyed look. "If you knew about the ambush before it happened why did you let the genin handle it."

Kakashi finished tying the no longer struggling Meizu up before he tossed Sasuke a bundle of ninja wire and indicating him to tie Gozu up. "Because 1) I wanted more confirmation on whether or not they are ready to face the world outside of Konoha's walls, which they most certainly are, by the way," he said, nodding at the genin in approval, getting positives responses back in gratitude of his comment. He then turned towards Tazuna with a serious, but still lazy, glare on his one visible eye. "I also wanted to learn what their objective was. Us… or you." He began to walk towards Tazuna slowly.

Tazuna began to back up slowly, sweat pouring down his temples as Kakashi glared at him. He was stopped by a tree and his whole body shook in fright. "Please don't kill me!" He begged, cupping his hands in a prayer as he fell down to his knees.

Kakashi stopped and rolled his eyes at the drama. "Oh, shut up. I just want to know why you lied about it only being bandits that were stealing from you when it's clear that whoever is after your head has enough pull and money to contract two missing nin from Kirigakure," said Kakashi after helping Tazuna to his feet. He even dusted off the man's clothes.

Tazuna gave a sigh of relief before nodding slowly. "I wasn't actually lying about the bandits since this is the first time Gato has sent shinobi to try and kill me. In the past, he would only send his goons to stop me from building the bridge," said Tazuna, a grim look on his face.

Kakashi's lone eye widened a bit. "Gato? You mean the Gato from the Gato Shipping Company?"

Tazuna scowled as he nodded his head sharply. "Yes. That Gato. He has taken over Nami by buying the dock and ships and has already sucked it dry of money to make himself richer while leaving everyone else poor and on the streets. He even has his goons collecting fake taxes from all the inhabitants. The bridge that I'm building is the only thing between his complete control of Nami and our freedom from him," growled Tazuna as his fists tightened at his sides.

Kakashi nodded as he understood the situation. "That bridge would be a connection with the main land, creating a cheaper way for merchants to go into Nami, meaning that the economy wouldn't be dependent on Gato's monopoly of the docks. That explains why you technically lied about the mission too as you didn't have the money to pay for a higher ranking one."

Tazuna glared at Kakashi. "I didn't lie! I was never expecting Gato o send shinobi after me!" He insisted heatedly.

"For us shinobi, holding back information is the same as lying. You could have told us your situation and we could have dealt with Gato personally, striking a treaty with Wave that would have exponentially busted up your economy. As things now stand this mission is out of the jurisdiction of this Team. You are lucky those two underestimated my students and that it was I who was assigned to this, otherwise, you'd be dead. Let's head back," spoke Kakashi as he began to walk away.

Tazuna suddenly went to his knees again and pressed his forehead to the ground. "Please! Help out my country! I'm not asking you to go and kill Gato as that wouldn't make me better than him. I only need for you to escort me and protect me while I finish the bridge. I have a daughter and a grandson who are hoping for my return and rooting for me. And if that's not enough, the whole country is hoping that I finish this bridge! It's their only hope!" Cried Tazuna in desperation as tears trailed down his wrinkled face.

Kakashi paused and looked back at Tazuna. "You do know that with the failure of those two, Gato would be sending more dangerous people after you right?" He asked rhetorically as he turned around completely to look at him fully and seriously. "If we continue this mission, which has escalated to at least a B-Rank, you'll be expected to pay the difference of money that you will owe. Not only that, but it's also likely that you would have to strike a trading deal directly with Konoha that will be mostly favoring us."

Tazuna looked up at Kakashi, hope shining in his eyes. "Are you saying that…" He trailed off as he choked back a sob.

Kakashi nodded slowly. "If my team is willing, we will continue this mission until the very end… even if it's not protocol but you are lucky that I am an altruistic and decent human being," said Kakashi with an eye smile that he then directed towards his team who had been silently watching and listening to the conversation from the sidelines. "So, my cute little genin, do you want to follow through with this mission even after the evil client lied about it and you almost died a cruel and gruesome death because of that lie?"

Naruto grinned as he ignored Tazuna's indignant shout of 'I did not lie damn it!' as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Sure, why not? I mean, I always wanted to help liberate a country from an evil tyrant after all!"

Hinata nodded her head resolutely, a serious expression on her face. "I also want to help. For evil men to succeed it only takes for the good ones to do nothing. If we can do something, no matter how small, about anything that we find wrongful, we must do it."

Sasuke, who finished tying Gozu up, simply smirked and nodded, excited at the seemingly increasing chances of proving himself.

Kakashi nodded, a pleased gleam of pride in his one visible eye, before motioning towards the road. "Come on team. Let's go liberate a country."

"Um, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi paused and turned towards the only female member of his team. "Yes, Hinata?"

Hinata motioned towards the two tied up Demon Brothers, one of whom was unconscious and the other was glaring heatedly at them. "What are we going to do about them?"

Kakashi perked up and gave a sheepish eye smile. "Oh, right. I almost forgot." His shameless admittance had the three members of his team seat dropping as they looked at him with varying degrees of disturbance. "I think the best course of action would be to…"

Tazuna could only cry. The actual reason, be it happiness at getting a formidable team of shinobi to help him liberate his country of the evil tyrant that has been terrorizing it for years or despair because the leader and strongest member of the team clearly being insane, would remain unknown.