Chapter 5

"Are you sure you don't want another D-Rank?" Tsunade asks, clearly bemused at the forced work-ethic that Kakashi has imposed on his three students. Said students looked quite annoyed after another round of cat-chasing and potato farming, but they had yet to make a complaint about it.

Kakashi eye-smiles. "Mah, I think I'll head home and get some beauty sleep." It's not easy rearing a child. Sleep is a well-enjoyed commodity.

"Believe me Kakashi, there aren't enough hours in the day." Naruto chips in needlessly, ducking a half-hearted swipe from his sensei.

The Jonin isn't blind to how frustrated Naruto and Sasuke are becoming however. While D-Rank missions provided an opportunity to learn skills for blending in and for home use, hot-blooded boys often wanted more. Sasuke's clear motivation was power. A kind of power that isn't earned by chasing cats.

"Don't be rude, Naruto!" Sakura scolds the unusually tall Genin. Bless her heart, always there to defend her precious sensei!

"Did you know that Kakashi's hair used to be blonde?" Naruto outright lied. Convincingly.

"What?" Is Sakura's dumbfounded reply. Her loud voice drowned out Tsunade's own quiet and amused repeat of the question.

"Hmm." Naruto nods, looking quite solemn. "D-Rank missions have been categorically proven to cause a number of negative health effects. Hair loss, loss of hair colour, degenerative joint conditions, excessive hair growth, rapidly changing facial features in the form of moles and dental conditions. Why do you think Kakashi wears that mask all the time? He's shy and feels ashamed of his buck teeth and big lips."

Sasuke actually looked interested once Naruto brought up the mask.

"Be careful, Sakura. We can't do D-Rank missions forever. Unless of course you want to turn out like... Yamanaka Ino?"

"NO!" Sakura snarls, before righting herself and refusing to fall for another of his idiotic shenanigans. "Shut up Naruto!"

Kakashi decides to step in and get the last word.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. What Naruto forgot to mention was that the Sensei of any Genin squad knows the address of all their Genin, and therefore they have nowhere to hide for surprise midnight revenge D-Ranks. And as a Genin unit, the other members of that team are also obligated not to leave their misbehaving peer behind."

Naruto's visible eye twitched, and he seemingly struggled to maintain his 'innocent idiot' look when his two teammates turned to glare.

"Ahem."

Team 7 turns to the bemused-looking Hokage.

"Come back tomorrow for another mission. Dismissed."

The silver-haired Jonin observes his cute little students.

Kakashi doesn't consider himself ignorant to the fact that he has certain liberties as a Konoha Shinobi but as with most powerful shinobi in Konoha, all of them are given leeway for their eccentric behaviors under the unspoken grounds that they serve Konoha and only Konoha.

It's this minor tidbit of knowledge that he uses to assess his most peculiar student; Uzumaki Naruto.

So far, the boy hadn't shown anything to him besides just being better than even the prodigious Uchiha Sasuke. Sure, he could throw around Kage Bunshin with enviable ease. And yes, Kakashi has never seen a boy that age of such prowess in Taijutsu. But Naruto's chakra levels and strength are far too powerful for him to only have Kage Bunshin at his disposal. He is hiding something, perhaps many things. But it's Kakashi's job to determine if Naruto will use that hidden power for the good of Konoha or if Naruto needs to be... disappeared.

Naruto could continue being secretive. It wasn't anyone's business knowing what kind of things he can do while there is no large-scale conflict going on in the Elemental Nations. Naruto was the only person that these secrets are actually hurting. He could be given more leeway and allowances if he proves to Tsunade and the other higher-ups that he is someone worth controlling, and he is taking more opportunities away from himself by keeping things too close to his chest.

But that's Naruto's decision and responsibility. Kakashi can show him the doors but Naruto needs to open them. And besides, Naruto's abilities so far have been well-within the realm of possibility for someone self taught. Taijutsu skills could have been honed in spars against fellow children bully Genin when he was younger, and he clearly also had an outright aptitude for it. He is naturally talented in the art. And Kage Bunshin while a forbidden Jutsu, is clearly used frequently by skilled members of the forces throughout the village. It isn't a stretch to assume that monkey-see-monkey-do could be applied and without anyone to teach him the responsible use of Ninjutsu and the importance of not attempting anything without knowing what it is, Naruto could just be lucky to have a high chakra threshold and could use a Jutsu like that without just dying instantly.

Naruto's behavior isn't so easy to read. Sure, he jokes and messes with his teammates, but Kakashi has known him for good part of Naruto's life. He knows that the Naruto that is seen throughout the village is merely a persona. Kakashi has seen Naruto express actual rage at people trying to pick on him, he has seen Naruto be 'down in the dumps' which was at its worst when 'someone he liked died' roughly half a year before he'd graduated. Naruto's true personality bled through is rare instances, but it may take a catalyst to see what truly lay under the mask. The spectrum of his attitude may be slightly concerning, but Kakashi feels that he's a good enough judge of character to tell if someone is suitable to be alone around his child, especially in the case of babysitting. It's not too worrying that Naruto keeps to himself.

For now, all three of his fresh Genin suffer through their D-Ranks as fresh Genin should. They do their teamwork drills at the end of each mission, something that Kakashi insists upon in order to evaluate how long it will take for them to be C-Rank ready. Sakura is making the most obvious progress. She is perfectly willing to cooperate with Sasuke and has at least warmed up to Naruto considerably over the course of the two weeks they'd been in a team. The two boys are a slightly different story.

Naruto and Sasuke are both very independent. They are only going through the teamwork drills to appease their Sensei, that much is clear. The whole team is on the cusp of being ready for a C-Rank, and he can only hope that the information he'd been trying to impart upon them was sinking in. Neither of them liked doing drills or learning formations and Genin-class combo attacks when they could be doing their own very vigorous training. It's too deep into their lifestyle to expect either of them to change just from a few lessons in working together but Kakashi didn't think it would take something catastrophic to remind them to watch each others and Sakura's backs.

Kakashi took a breath and pocketed the book he'd been to distracted by his own thoughts to read. Team 7 had packed up their gardening tools and were clearly waiting for instruction. He takes in Sasuke and Sakura's marginally disgruntled looks and compares them to Naruto, he seems rather unfazed at the menial labor. Kakashi was reminded that the stipend that independent minors received from the village was said to be quite small and that Naruto in truth was probably relishing the increased income. Sasuke has deep coffers to support him and Sakura has working parents, but Naruto needs these missions which is why they end up doing one once-a-day. Kakashi hasn't interacted much with the other Jounin-Sensei since the team was placed in his hands, but he expects that Team 7 has the highest mission count among the rookies.

"Good work Team 7." Kakashi offers his praise. Positive reinforcement! "I'm deciding to treat you today."

"To lunch?" Is Naruto's immediate inquiry.

"Nope!" Kakashi refuses cheerily. "We're going to be doing some combat training!"

Sasuke expectedly perks up.

"Come along then, my Kawaii Genin!" Kakashi chirps. "Time to tire you out proper!"

Sakura is hit with a sense of foreboding.

The team slowly makes their way to the same training ground that was used in their bell test. The Genin make quiet conversation on the way.

"Do you think Kakashi-sensei wants us to spar?" Sakura asks nervously.

"Probably." Sasuke replies, almost completely insensitive and uncaring to Sakura's clear fear.

"Sakura-chan." Kakashi catches her attention with a mild stern inflection to his voice. "You can't get any better at fighting if you don't practice fighting. I need to make sure that you're ready for more difficult missions. The boys will go easy on you, but I expect you to do your absolute best."

"R-right." Her reply is tremulous.

"And besides. I said 'combat training', not just sparring. I'm sure you three can team up against me and do better than last time." Kakashi makes it quite clear in his voice that there would be consequences if they didn't, especially after all their teamwork training.

Kakashi makes a show of putting on a sigh, and hopes inwardly that his cute Genin have learned what he has been teaching.

Sakura winces as she watches Sasuke get pummeled into the ground again. She wants to get up and cheer Sasuke-kun on, but stacking some sparring with the boys on top of the Genin vs Jonin exercise they'd started with, has left her barely able to move. All she can do is sit against the tree trunk, patting down the sweat and silently hope that Sasuke-kun beats that infuriating Naruto!

Unlike the previous team training sessions, Kakashi-sensei is permitting the use of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Sasuke hasn't had much opportunity to show anything off with Naruto hounding him with his superior Taijutsu ability. Oh how she wondered at what kind of powers Sasuke was keeping secret! The mystery just makes her to know more!

She starts as Sasuke leaps to his feet and tries to get away from Naruto. Naruto seems surprised as well. Sasuke is puffing and doesn't take his Sharingan off Naruto for even a second. The intensity makes her slightly nervous.

Kakashi-sensei also watches beside her and gives a thoughtful 'hmm'.

'I need to keep my distance.' Sasuke thinks to himself, acknowledging that he can't make use of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu while Naruto is in control of the fight. Naruto is too quick for Shurikenjutsu alone to work, but maybe he could...

He weaves through several signs that are ingrained in his memory and lands lastly on a Tiger Seal.

'Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!' Sasuke blows out a fireball twice his size and sends it flying in Naruto's direction.

The flames burn the grass as it sails through the air at speed, but there is enough distance that Naruto can run to the side without challenging the fireball.

Naruto already has two shuriken in his hand and throws them while flanking. While running, he weaves a few seals of his own.

The two shuriken multiply and become twenty. They clang off of each other in the air, making their flight path unpredictable, but thankfully Sasuke's Sharingan is able to determine where they are going and what direction to move in.

Naruto is lured to one side, he seems to be waiting for the next play. Sasuke weaves through several hand-signs again and fires off another off his clans signature Jutsu. It flies across the field and looks about ready to intercept Naruto before he can throw another efficient volley of shuriken. Naruto leaps back as Sasuke predicted, and the Uchiha boy is already weaving different signs.

'Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!' From his mouth, five smaller fireballs whirl around each other randomly.

Sasuke whips out five shuriken in each hand and throws them to the sides of the swirling Katon Jutsu. The shuriken did not hit each other, but did sway in the air as if attached to the end of a flag. The spin made them unpredictable, and the combination of Shurikenjutsu and his Katon made a wide area-of-effect that Naruto wouldn't be able to dodge without leaping up into the air, in which case he'd be a sitting duck for another attack, or by going underground.

"Go, Sasuke-kun!" The impressive display invigorates Sakura's spirits and she cheers for he beloved teammate.

Kakashi readies in to a position to assist if Naruto isn't able to dodge, but pauses as he senses Naruto's chakra swell. He observes Naruto use only a single sign, but the amount of chakra infused is enough for him to brace.

"Sakura-chan, I'd get behind the tree if I were you."

'Not bad.'

Naruto thinks it's annoying to hide his abilities, but throwing Shuriken wasn't going to work in the grand scheme of the fight.

But he's too competitive to just lose and let it slide. Sasuke went through much effort to get him this far, maybe he'd reward him with a strong counter. Nothing as flashy as what his opponent had just done. The attack is encroaching on him too quickly to give it much thought and he casts only a single Bird Sign.

He infuses chakra into his lungs and it burst out in a one-shot 'pop' from his mouth.

'Futon: Daitoppa!'

An enormous wave of Wind Chakra obliterates the advancing attack. It levels the ground as it tears across the training field and approaches Sasuke. The fireballs sputtered out almost pathetically and instantly and Sasuke was given no choice but to duck and attempt to dig his arms into the ground, anchoring himself.

The skin on Sasuke's face is pulled back as the Wind slams into him, and all of the grass and rocks around him are blasted away. The Jutsu is quick and brutal. As it passes over him, some bushes are uprooted outright and tree branches snap off.

Sasuke digs his arms out of the ground but it is clear that he is concussed. He is easy prey for Naruto who swoops in and puts a kunai to his neck.

"Winner, Naruto!" Kakashi announces unnecessarily.

Sakura gawps at how quickly the fight ended, and Kakashi is not surprised by her reaction.

'Wind Release, excessive chakra capacity, enough stamina to make a squad of Jonin jealous and quite possibly the best Taijutsu user his age I've ever met.' Kakashi mentally counts the number of oddities converging on a single Genin.

"That's enough for today I think." Kakashi dismisses the team, looking over to check how injured Sasuke is.

Nothing his lovely wife can't tend to quickly.

"Tadaima." Sakura croaks. Her mother turns around from making dinner and greets her daughter.

"Welcome home... dear?" Mebuki pauses and takes in Sakura's beaten appearance.

Sakura collapses into her usual seat at the dinner table and she looks quite obviously worse for wear.

"My goodness! What happened?!" Her mother puts the cooking down the priority list as frets over the exhausted girl.

"Training."

Mebuki did not look happy. "You look like you were in a fight!"

"Kakashi-sensei made us spar. He's checking if we're ready for a real mission."

"By beating you up?!"

Her father, who sat at the other end of the table with a newspaper in hand, is surprisingly the voice of reason between the two energetic parents.

"C'mon sweetheart. Kakashi-sensei can hardly send our little Sakura-chan out before she's ready now, can he? I think we'll all be happy if Team 7 gets into trouble and everyone can handle themselves." Kizashi twiddles his mustache as he speaks.

Sakura is grateful that all her mother can respond with is a nagging 'hmph!'.

"Not that I'm not worried." Kizashi continues. "But your sensei is a famous shinobi for a reason. He knows what he's doing. But that also means that my precious..." Sakura could see what was coming a mile away, but was too exhausted to move. "wittle baby girl, apple of my eye, my pride and joy!"

Kizashi wraps the helplessly squirming girl in a bear hug.

"Sakura-chan is growing up and leaving for the first time!"

"Otou-san!" Sakura's weak protest into his shoulder is readily ignored.

Mebuki joins the hug with teary eyes.

Sasuke collapses into his bed and thinks about the weeks leading up to this point.

"Take the week off, you three." Kakashi told them. "Think about your training, and recover. I think it's high time we took on something a little more than digging weeds. I for one, am going to spend this week with my family. If you have anyone that might miss you then I suggest you say goodbye."

The Uchiha boy does exactly that. He lets the young couple who own the bakery he visits know that he's leaving, and gives them his apartment keys as is the usual practice for shinobi leaving the village for possibly extended periods of time. Sasuke likes the couple and has come to trust them somewhat. They do not sneer at his goals, they do not ridicule him for being born into a legendary clan, and they do not try to control his life. Sasuke is cautious, but these things also happen to be traits of his newly found rival; Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto is certainly an anomaly to him. Unlike his other peers, Naruto didn't ignore him or make mention of his goals. Naruto didn't seem to care, all he wanted was for Sasuke to get stronger. He had been tempted to ask Naruto outright 'why' but he knew that Naruto could be infuriatingly evasive, seemingly for no reason other than his own entertainment. If Naruto wanted him to know something, he would just say it.

So Sasuke had to try and understand for himself just what Naruto's motive is for encouraging him. But the conclusion he came to makes him feel bitter.

Naruto has no equal in their age group. Once, it had been Sasuke in that same position. His peers are far too weak to provide actual challenge. Soft whetstones make for dull blades. Anyone stronger than him was a superior officer that wouldn't spare the time to train with him or if there were any people his age willing to spar, he hadn't met them yet. Joined sparring sessions between teams seem to be a rare occurrence due to often conflicting mission schedules and external factors like family life.

Until Naruto came along, Sasuke didn't have anyone stronger than him that was willing to train with him even without Kakashi's influence. But now that Naruto is here, it feels as though it's a mixed blessing. On one hand, Naruto is a worthy adversary who provides meaningful challenge in their spars, and on the other hand is the fact that Sasuke now feels inadequate knowing that there is someone so powerful his age, knowing that that man had been more powerful than he is now at this age. And worse is that Naruto is an orphan. They have that in common, but Sasuke has a wealth of background knowledge and archives to search for answers in the pursuit of power and yet he still fails to defeat his rival.

It doesn't feel like he's progressing when he fights Naruto. Kakashi, for all his flippancy is the one to try and explain it to him.

"Hmm, well... surely you can see for yourself that you're getting stronger, right? Your plan was good for something you came up with on the spot, and that combination of Ninjutsu and Shurikenjutsu would have had anyone who isn't proficient in Futon or Doton. Think objectively about your growth. You have sought out on your own a new Jutsu from your clan's archives, practiced with it until you could use it in a combat scenario, combined it another technique, and throw in that you made plan to employ them all at once in order to defeat him. Sounds to me that your weakness isn't the problem. It's just Naruto being too strong. You can't see that you're growing stronger because the only people that you're fighting are stronger by a margin that gets shorter every time that you use your own initiative to gain strength."

But how could he hope to defeat his brother, if he could not defeat his Genin teammate? And he asked as much to Kakashi, which makes him look back on that question with a sense of shame at his frustrated, juvenile behavior.

"Listen to me." Kakashi's eye zones in on Sasuke. It's slightly intimidating and Sasuke doesn't know if that's intentional. "Itachi had everything that you don't. Even before he became a Genin, the way I hear it is that your father wasn't easy on him, even by normal 'strict parent' standards. Itachi was told to train in every waking moment, so much that it took a toll on his health. When he was recommended to join ANBU, I personally refused it because of his reduced effectiveness in combat from his stress and fatigue evaluation. He had an entire clan of people with the same genetic gift that he has that he could defer to for advice on how to master it. He had teachers of clan jutsu rather that just scrolls, and when his second ANBU application went through once he cleaned up his excessive training, he had ANBU trainers and experiences to draw knowledge from. There are many factors as to how Itachi is so powerful and only one of them is raw, natural talent."

Kakashi's catch-up breath through his mask is audible. He leans against some railing in the viewpoint they stopped at after he'd suggested walking home together, so that Sasuke or anyone else on a different occasion can talk to him privately about their concerns.

"Y'know Sasuke, I was in the same boat as you for a very long time. My father committed suicide when I was five years old and I was left with only people who wanted me to live up to be the same legend that he was. No one wanted me to be Kakashi, and I could have easily been the predecessor of Itachi when it comes to infamous traitors. But in the end, I found connections and bonds of peers and friends. It was through those connections that I grew stronger and began to understand myself. Not as the son of Hatake Sakumo, but as Hatake Kakashi, who is his own person."

Sasuke is very still when Kakashi next speaks.

"What I want you to understand is that you are the sum of everything that has happened in your life up until this point. Own it. Understand that you cannot possibly hope to gain power like Itachi did. His life at your age was very, very different and you don't need to match his life when you have already proven to yourself that you can learn both on your own and with the help of your team. You are not as strong as he was at your age. Who cares? You can still become stronger than him. You can still be Uchiha Sasuke, not the second Itachi."

Kakashi walked him home after that and Sasuke didn't say a word. All he could feel was the pounding of his heart and the tightness in his eyes. Sasuke wonders what else his sensei has lost. An adult had surely lost more than they care to say. He wonders what Naruto has lost. He wonders what Sakura has lost. He wonders what the Hokage, what Jonin, even Chuunin and Genin have lost and thinks that maybe he is not alone in despair.

He is on his back. His head rests on his pillow. One hand comes up to cover his eyes.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke." He states to himself.

Tears trickle down the sides of his face despite him trying to clutch them in. They disappear into his hair.

A half-sob comes out of his throat. It is uncomfortable and dry. The weight of vengeance grips his heart.

"I will not become you."

It is a promise.

Kakashi is wearing a smile before he even steps foot inside. The noisy, off-tune singing of his daughter lightens his heart after trying to lift up someone else's.

"Tadaima." Kakashi says, but mostly goes unheard. He leaves his sandals and flak jacket at the door and makes a beeline to his wife.

Shizune doesn't so much as jump when Kakashi wraps his arms around her waist and put his head on her shoulder.

"I take it that you're back on the mission runs?" Shizune leans into his embrace, taking a moment to enjoy it.

"Yep. Have you sorted out your replacement?"

"Yeah. Tsunade-sama had me train up the new boy. Good timing I guess, he officially replaces me tomorrow."

"Hmm. I'm glad." Kakashi's voice rumbles lowly. They wouldn't be able to rely on Naruto as much for babysitting anymore but at least Shizune would be around full time.

"PAPA'S BACK!" Is the enthusiastic greeting her receives from the other special girl in his life.

"She's been waiting for you all day Papa." Shizune returns to cooking. "She has had something very important to tell you."

There is something mischievous about her voice and the way she slips out of his arms. Kakashi doesn't give it much thought.

"Well? What do you want?" Kakashi is teasingly flippant when he looks down at Minako.

"Up!" She stretches her arms up to him.

"Up? Up what?" Kakashi looks at the ceiling to 'spot' something she was telling him. "I don't see anything."

Minako blows a raspberry at him. "I want you to please pick me up!"

It is not a question. It is a demand. But since she said please...

Kakashi obediently hefts his baby girl up.

"I have made the de-ci-sion Papa." Minako's face turns serious as she sounds out a longer than usual word.

"What have you decided, Minako."

Minako leans in and looks her father in the eye.

"I am going to marry Naru-nii."

There a pause. One only a few seconds long and yet it felt like an eternity to Kakashi.

"Oh god."

Shizune promptly breaks down into hysterical laughter.

Ichiraku Ramen is but one stall in the street. Its lights aren't extravagant but give a welcoming aura, even as the sun sets.

Naruto is telling a story to his favorite ramen waitress.

"So there I was, toe-to-toe with five of the meanest Kiri shinobi you ever saw. Hulking Jounin with that familiar Iwa stench that can be smelled a mile away, teeth sharper than daggers. Slowly, all TEN of them surround me, but do I surrender? NO! I summon my highly trained killer instinct and pounce on those Kumo shinobi! Choo! Hwaa! Hya!" Amateur Taijutsu moves thrown in for emphasis. "And when the dust cleared... There were TWENTY less Suna-nin in the world!"

"Oh Naruto, you're so amazing." Ayame flutters her lashes at the 'brave shinobi'.

"I know. Put it here." Naruto taps his cheek.

She leans over the counter and gives his cheek a light peck, featuring an exaggerated 'mwah!'.

"Sounds like you've had some intense D-Ranks." Teuchi, Ayame's father chips in as he puts a fresh bowl down in front of the ravenous boy.

"They can only put the best Genin on them." The unspoken 'I'm the best Genin' is clear.

He is just about the break apart his chopsticks when commotion starts to kick up behind him. About six pairs of feet are visible under the signs for the ramen stall.

"Ignore them, Naruto." Ayame whispers when a group of young adults being obnoxiously loud walk past all too slowly. "Apparently all of them got promoted to Chuunin and they've been celebrating with booze for the past few days."

"It wouldn't hurt them to celebrate elsewhere. Does anyone even sell alcohol on this street?" Naruto breaks the chopsticks and starts to eat his 'favorite customer' ramen.

"Ahh you know how it is Naruto. They get drunk somewhere else and decide to get something to spew up in five minutes. They'll be gone like usual soon enough." For Teuchi, this is by far the first time something has happened like this and his response to it is tempered by experience.

"They're not even drunk." Naruto shakes his head. "Footsteps are too even and coordinated. The sound of kunai in their pouches are making a clink so they're likely kitted out in shinobi gear instead of casual wear. Their speech isn't slurred or affected by alcohol either so they're just being noisy for fun. Flaunting their Chuunin vests, probably."

Ayame and Teuchi blinked at him.

"You can tell that without looking?" Ayame asks almost dazedly.

Naruto shrugs dismissively and returns to his bowl. "It's just a shinobi thing."

He savors his ramen and devours what remains of the broth by tipping it into his mouth.

"Thanks. I probably won't see you guys for a few weeks, Kakashi is having us do a C-Rank."

"A C-Rank already? Didn't you just graduate?"

"Yeah but he seems to think that we're ready. I get that D-Ranks are important for teaching us how to be normal people but I kinda just want a real mission already."

The obnoxious group of green Chuunin return up the street, making a ruckus and unfortunately one has managed to overhear the conversation.

"Oi, you hear that Junoichi?! A wittle Genin is going on his first C-Rank!"

The stand immediately becomes too crowded with six Chuunin hovering over Naruto, who's still sitting on a stool.

"I'd leave if I were you, boys." Teuchi warns while Ayame looks startled and a bit frightened at the group. "I don't like it when people make my customers uncomfortable."

"Hmm?" One of them smugly dismisses it. "Nah! Chuunin are entitled to talk to their underlings and civilians however we want!"

Another speaks up with a leer at Ayame. "Plus we got some eye-candy. So why don't you get cooking ya old geezer?"

"Chuunin are not above the law." Teuchi has dealt with fools before and keeps his cool. "Jounin are your superiors and a complaint to just one will have a group of newbies demoted for abusing officer status."

"I don't see any Jounin around, old man." The first speaker laughs, and the other five join in gladly. "Ya think we're just gonna let you run and get help from the big kids? I think I might have some fun with that fine waitress of yours too."

Teuchi shuffles in front of his quivering daughter.

"You're going to wish there were."

The dark threat from the boy who'd been silent up until this point catches them off guard and reduces the noise level to near-silence. Spectators in the street were preparing to look for help but watched for a moment when the Chuunin close in around Naruto.

"Oh? What'd ya say Genin-chan?" A hand reaches out to grab the boys shoulder.

"I said, you are going to wish that the Jounin were here to protect you from me."

Teuchi swallows as Naruto's face hidden to the Chuunin, spiked with hatred and rage. His fist that had been clenching the chopsticks, had veins bulging on the back of it.

"Fucking poser Genin-"

The one grabbing his shoulder has his hand clenched into a vice grip. Naruto yanks harshly and pulls the Chuunin's shoulder out of the joint and punts him into the wooden fence on the opposite side of the street. The Chuunin breaks the boards with the speed that he'd been thrown through the air. He is screaming in pain once his mind catches up.

"What the fuck?!" 'Junoichi' throws a punch at Naruto's head.

It is so slow. So damn slow. And Naruto has all too much rage built up to be satisfied with these weaklings.

Naruto doesn't even need to dodge. His counterattack comes before the punch even lands. The boy throws a brutal haymaker at Junoichi's head and he is sent tumbling to the ground with a broken nose twisted in an obvious way.

The other four waste no time and jump to the rescue by attacking instead of using their heads and running.

Naruto deftly uses one as a springboard and stomps on the collarbone of another, sending his victim crashing down and squealing. He lands, dodges and deflects punches on three fronts too fast for them to manage before throwing off the balance of one of them with a trip.

Without looking, Naruto kicks out the foot of one attacking from behind. The Chuunin falling face-first is met with whirling punch that instantly makes him black out. He isn't conscious to feel being thrown meters away, or having his jaw broken. The other three are still attacking despite the assault, a good sign on why they were promoted. They are quick enough to be Chuunin for sure. A shame that their steps are too weak to dance with him.

Weaving his way behind one of the three remaining, Naruto is quick and strong enough to throw the young mans legs up, making him fall backwards. Clenching both hands together, he slams down on his stomach mid-air and leaves a Chuunin coughing up blood from the force.

He takes down the last two simultaneously. He runs at them and they're too afraid to know what else to do besides try and meet Naruto head-on. Naruto jumps, pushing aside two punches and delivers and snap kick with each legs to the sides of their heads. They spin around and fall to the ground helplessly.

The one with the broken collarbone gets to his feet despite the pain and tries futile kicks to stop Naruto from getting closer. His reward having his leg grabbed and pulled so he fell down. The amateur move was something seen in playground fights. Naruto delivers a kick much like his first to the sides of the rib cage and sends mister-broken-collarbone tumbling with more broken insides.

Only 'Junoichi' is fighting condition.

Gasps erupt from the observers when a kunai is pulled from his thigh-holster.

"Alright you little prick!" Junoichi's snarl sends spittle of the blood dripping from his nose out.

"The smartest thing you could have done just now... was run." Naruto's voice takes a dominant tone. It is near-shiver inducing.

His stance isn't really a stance. It's more a smug, superior pose as if to say 'you've already lost'.

Junoichi lunges with a roar.

"Fool."

He can't even get in range. His kunai-hand is caught by Naruto's right quicker than he could even perceive. Naruto crushes the wrist of the idiotic Chuunin. The kunai drops at his feet and Junoichi drops to his knees.

Naruto uses his other hand to grab the underside of Junoichi's jaw and squezes tightly, preventing him from speaking well. All he can do is give a pained moan as the exhale from his nose spittled more blood.

"Here is how it's going to be." Naruto's dark tone is not something put on or practice. It's a genuine representation of the bad things that would happen to the group if they dared to disobey. "You and your friends aren't going to bother the people in the street anymore."

"Fuck you!" Junoichi manages to sputter out from his clenched jaw.

Naruto tightens his grip immediately and the Chuunin's jaw is fractured.

The responding scream of pain is muted by Naruto's hand.

Spectators watch in the street while making sure their children couldn't see, but didn't turn away themselves.

Naruto's face is cast in shadow. The bright light from the ramen stall amplifies the shadow cast by his hair. Junoichi can only see one eye but it is making him quiver at the promised retribution that is still clear on the boys hatred-filled visage.

Junoichi moans pathetically as his jaw begins to pulse.

"You will leave these people alone, and you will behave yourself. If you so much as dare to mutter an insult under your breath, or look at these people in a way that I find... disrespectful. I. Will. End. You."

The Chuunin nods fearfully, unable to speak.

Naruto nods, "Good." And shoves him to the ground.

"Nice work kid." Is the mutter he hears from the crowd, although the others remain in silent awe.

A Jounin is soon on site after someone called for help, and he collects the reports from witnesses. Teuchi and Ayame give an accurate recount. The Jounin is soon joined by two medics from the hospital to patch up the soon to be Genin.

Naruto tries to leave but is stopped by a glasses-wearing Jounin. To his credit, Aoba looked apologetic.

"Sorry kid. Gotta get your side of the story too." Aoba looks too tired to deal with the on goings. "You're not in trouble. As Tsunade-sama would say, they had it coming."

Naruto is cleared of any charges he might have received by the operating Jounin. His behavior is deemed as unnecessarily violent but is given a pass due to the clear threat the vagrant Chuunin posed to him and the stall staff.

His assessment of the incident linked up with what his Grandfather told him about the behaviors of shinobi. His power had prevented harm from coming to those people that he considered close to him. And Teuchi had tried to reason with them. Words weren't enough sometimes and the six fools only understood that what they were doing was a bad idea after they had it literally beaten into their heads.

Shinobi were often given leeway in terms of their behavior. It was just how Konoha's system worked. Keeping shinobi loyal by giving them certain freedoms, and then keeping them in line using the ranking hierarchy that was based on the power and talent of those in the higher tiers of Konoha's network. When shinobi misbehaved too much, the next highest ranking person would be the one to put them in their place, and so the importance of strength and responsibility in the Kage of a village was placed in maximum importance to the ecosystem of the village.

He came to realize that the only reason that he'd gotten away with what was essentially assault by civilian standards, was because he was strong enough to defeat six Chuunin. He was worthy of being a Konoha shinobi. He'd be of more use in the field than in a jail cell.

It was as though he'd had a 'eureka' moment. As if he was finally understanding something that he was taught long ago.

Team 7 unites in the early hours of the morning on the same day, one week later. Tsunade starts reading out the available D-Ranks preemptively.

"Actually, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi interrupts her as politely as he can. "Team 7 is ready for a C-Rank."

The Genin have had a week to prepare for their mission. Naruto and Sasuke look as perky as can be but Sakura regresses into a fearful visage.

Tsunade looked surprised before she shrugged and smiled.

"Alright. You're the first of the new batch to ask for a C-Rank. They've been nabbed up by a few experienced teams today but I'm sure we have something here." Tsunade pushes the intercom button. "Are the new missions scrolls ready yet?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. Shall I bring them in for you?" A young adult male answers professionally.

"Bring them in."

The young man walks in with a scroll carrier in one hand. He refills the near-empty stacks from the bottom and refreshes the supply for the empty C and B-Ranks.

"Will there be anything else, Hokage-sama?"

"No thank you, Kabuto. Return to your duties."

'Kabuto' bows politely and takes his leave.

"Shizune's replacement?" Kakashi asks rhetorically but gets an answer anyway.

"Yep." Tsunade pops the 'p' and leans back lackadaisically. "Kid's good, damn good medic too. He can give Shizune a run for her money, that's for sure."

"Really?" High praise indeed for someone so young, from the Hokage herself no-less.

"Hmm. Now, your mission." Tsunade takes the first C-Rank off the top and starts to inform the team. "The client is a bridge builder from Nami no Kuni. His primary concerns are local crime syndicates causing trouble for him and his workers and so he needs protection from a more skilled security detail than non-shinobi nations can provide. You'll be escorting the client back to Nami, and oversee the remaining work until the bridge is finished. Two weeks at most, but the client has impressed on us that the deadline needs to be met without further delays."

Tsunade pushed the intercom again. "Kabuto, send in Tazuna."

Not a moment later the bridge builder enters the room. He is an older man reeking of alcohol and looks none too impressed with the selection of shinobi before him.

"This is what I paid for?" Tazuna's voice is nearly slurred. "Three brats and a cyclops? How the hell am I supposed to be safe?"

"You are entitled to a refund of course. The nearest shinobi village is a mere three weeks away if finishing your bridge isn't as urgent as we were led to believe."

Tazuna wisely shut his mouth.

"Why don't we just get on with the mission?" Kakashi suggests and bows shortly to Tsunade. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

"Good luck. Come home safe."

The group can only move as quickly as the client. That means no leaping between trees, no great lengths of sprinting, and most certainly not getting to the site that the client wants to arrive at within a reasonable period of time. But such is the way of escort missions, so the Genin would just have to learn to deal with remaining alert in order to protect their speed-challenged charge.

The first day passes without incident. They set up camp and take short watches so that everyone can get enough sleep and by morning they're ready to get back to it.

The group walk down the beaten path with Kakashi at the rear. Sakura tentatively asks Tazuna about the importance of the bridge that he needs to build.

"Tazuna-san, why is it so urgent that your bridge gets finished in time? I thought Nami no Kuni has trade partners that use ships?"

Tazuna has a short swig of ambiguous liquid before replying to the girl. No harm, right?

"Ahh well, business on that front is a bit err, stilted right now. Our trade partners are having a tough time getting ships outta the bay because of pirates and since we're cut off from the mainland, we got no other way to sell what we need to. Families are starving and we're losing jobs because we can't trade."

'If that were the whole story, then you'd just save your resources for yourselves and wouldn't need shinobi guard.' Naruto thought of the obvious inconsistency in the story. 'You've got plenty of fish in the sea. Client's lying about what's waiting for us.'

But Kakashi doesn't say anything. A mission is a mission and C-Ranks don't often warrant sassing the client for details about their struggles. Unless Tazuna outright stated something incriminating, then they would continue unabated.

"So what kind of things do Nami trade?" Sakura asks a question that may actually help assess the importance of the bridge.

"Well before all this, we used to export fish of all sorts. Tuna, salmon, you name it. Our fishing boats are tip-top! But more importantly is that we import timber and building materials that we can't get ourselves. Once we finish the bridge, more possibilities for trade and tourism open right up."

'I can believe that at least.' Naruto returns to observing the surroundings.

Following the short conversation is a long few hours before the environment shows its own inconsistency.

The trees in the strip of the area they're traveling through are taller than what they'd passed up until this point. Normally, would make the squad look up for the increase in hiding spots for potential ambushers, but two puddles in the road were not ignorable to Naruto on a day that there wasn't any rain.

He extends his senses. Two chakra signatures. The tactic would have been more impressive on a day that the weather favored them but given that this is the tactic they chose means that they probably didn't have other stealth skills. Likely Chuunin then, that they could employ a strategy like this but not have the foresight to learn to do something else.

But there's no point in acting prematurely. There's still the chance these shinobi weren't after them and were waiting for someone else, however unlikely that may be.

Team 7 walks past the puddles and they are immediately attacked.

'Knew it.'

The two hidden shinobi are revealed to be Kiri-nin and they make the mistake of attacking Kakashi first. 'Kakashi' is seemingly ripped to shreds by a bladed chain linking the assailants but both Naruto and Sasuke are wise enough at this point to know that this was another one of his substitution shenanigans.

Sakura though is understandably spooked and freezes in place.

The boys are forced to act and take on each. Sasuke makes quick work of disabling the chain with some well-placed kunai, forcing the enemy to separate it from their gauntlets. The two are small-fry and are made quick work of despite their obviously poisoned claws.

"Well that was fun." Kakashi announces his presence by appearing out of the trees. "And they're still alive too. Good job you two. Why don't you stay here with Tazuna for a moment. I just want to have a nice chat with these Kiri-nin you've gotten me."

"You're something else." Sasuke comments to the squirming nin in his arm-lock. "A whole new brand of weak."

The nin growls viciously through his re breather.

Kakashi ties up the attackers and leads them into the forest, away from the curious gaze of the Genin.

"What's he gonna do?" Tazuna fidgets, the surge of fear he felt slowly disappearing.

"Interrogation." Naruto answers simply.

Kakashi then returns with some very pointed questions.

Tazuna's follow-up sob story plucks on Sakura's heart strings. Naruto and Sasuke didn't need any convincing to continue the mission.

'It's all so tiresome.' Kakashi thought exasperated.

A feminine figure recounts the observation of Team 7's encounter to a large man.

"The Demon Brothers failed, Zabuza-sama. The escort team is led by Hatake Kakashi."

"Did he spot you?"

"No."

The man stands up and hefts a mighty blade onto his back.

"I'll see what Hatake Kakashi is really made of."

"This is as far as I go." Says the dinghy captain who carried them across the sea.

"Thanks, you've been a great help."

They officially land in Nami no Kuni after an impressive view of the bridge project, and further intel from Tazuna about the nature of what's going on in Nami. Team 7 disembarks in an area that was clearly used for housing purposes and journey further into the archipelago. The team is on high alert after their encounter with the Chuunin, expecting escalation if what they heard about Gato is true.

And unfortunately the quiet doesn't last long.

Naruto's senses tell him of several chakra signatures floating around. The majority of them are small critters. Rabits, foxes and fish. So when another two enter his range, he presumes they must be more wildlife at the very edge of his senses. Kakashi's well-earned experience tells him that the snowy rabbit present is most certainly not wild.

"Get down!"

Everyone hits the ground as the whistling, heavy object cuts through the air and smacks into a tree trunk. A new Shinobi appears on the long hilt of the revealed massive blade.

'He threw that from outside my sensing range. Who the hell is this guy?' Naruto thought on the sheer strength and power that kind of move took.

"Sharingan no Kakashi. No wonder the Demon Brothers didn't come back with the builders head."

Kakashi assesses his opponent and pulls his forehead protector up, revealing his aforementioned Sharingan. "Momochi Zabuza. Missing-nin of Kirigakure and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

"I see my reputation precedes me." A wicked smile lies under his mask of bandages. "But I really must be killing that old man now."

The Genin form up around Tazuna.

Zabuza continues with a small inflection of excitement in his voice. "Looks like I'll have to go through you first, Kakashi."

He vanishes and reappears on the lake.

"He's standing on water?" Sakura tightens her grip on her kunai.

Water swirls up at his feet. He holds one hand in a sign.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

Intense mist becomes so oppressive that Naruto can barely see the tip of his nose. He focuses his sensing power and is able to tell that the other chakra signature has gotten closer. It is strong and unusual, a kind of chakra that he has never felt before.

But more pressing is that Zabuza's chakra has divided. He knows immediately what the butcher is up to and weaves signs for wind chakra. He calls upon a Jutsu to dispel the mist. Anything more could throw Kakashi off.

"Futon: Taifuikka!(Wind Release: Passing Typhoon)"

From his mouth, wind spread widely but thinly, enough to whip the mist out of his and the teams vision. Kakashi also focuses his chakra and dispels some of the mist around him on his own.

'This uncomfortable sensation...' Naruto can feel the killing intent pouring off of Zabuza. Psychological warfare can seriously impact a Shinobi ability in battle, and it is because Naruto understands this that he is able to focus and throw off the foul feeling without much effort. His grandfather had educated him on things such as this and his pride would not allow him to fall from fear.

Sasuke and Sakura don't seem to know what's happening to them however and are clearly struggling to breath.

"Don't worry! I'll protect you with my life!" Kakashi's voice is heard through the clear air. It makes an effect on their minds and they barely manage to throw off the killing intent.

"We'll see about that." Zabuza's voice seemingly comes from everywhere.

"S-stay behind us, Tazuna-san!" Sakura stammers out, gripping her kunai extremely tight.

Zabuza appears right next to them. "Like that'll help."

A projectile of violent wind comes out of Naruto's mouth and blows away what is now revealed as Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin.

Another Zabuza appears behind Naruto and it is Kakashi who intercepts by stabbing him in the stomach.

Water pours from the wound and this Zabuza falls into a puddle. The real Zabuza appears and splits Kakashi across his waist.

"SENSEI!" Sakura screams helplessly.

Kakashi dissolves into water as well, and the real Zabuza is suddenly held at kunai-point by real Kakashi.

"You copied my Mizu Bunshin..." Zabuza growls. "And used my own mist to hide it."

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Kakashi suggests rather boredly for someone who was in a battle with another Shinobi of similar reputation.

Zabuza replies calmly for someone in the same situation. "Shame. I thought you were better than this." Before he dissolves into water.

"What?!"

The swordsman rushes out of the bushes at high-speed and kicks Kakashi with enough force that he is sent flying through the air and into the lake. Zabuza reappears above Kakashi.

"Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu!"

"Take the client and run!" Kakashi shouts before he is captured in an orb of water.

The dense water made it impossible to move.

"You are some burden, old man." Naruto realizes that escape wouldn't be possible unless they left Tazuna behind.

Tazuna is too frightened to reply.

A new Mizu Bunshin sprouts out of the water and charges the squad, Zabuza's skill with Suiton so great that he could maintain both the Suirou and Mizu Bunshin at once. It kicks Sasuke away from the client before Naruto manages to send off his Jutsu.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The fireball from Naruto's mouth collides with Zabuza's clone. He holds the Jutsu in a flamethrower variant to ensure that the clone wouldn't survive. The fresh steam and disappearance of Chakra tells Naruto that he killed the clone.

Another Mizu Bunshin appears and goes after Sasuke. Naruto stays at the side of the client and waits for an opening to kill the clone without injuring Sasuke.

This Zabuza seems slower than the rest to the point that Sasuke can counterattack. He uses all the speed and predictive ability his Sharingan can manage and uses the same combination that he attempted on Naruto during their spars. The Hosenka no Jutsu crashes into the clone and after trying to reconstitute itself, fall into a puddle.

"I've got you all figured out kiddies." Another Mizu Bunshin forms at the edge of the lake and walks onto the shore, ready to attack again.

Naruto's assessment of the skirmish allows him to form a plan. The clone was slower than all the previous ones Zabuza had used, meaning that his stamina and control were getting weaker. He's not attempting anything besides Mizu Bunshin, meaning that he can't rely on a stronger Jutsu while he is maintaining Kakashi's prison. If Naruto wanted to get away from this fight with a successful mission and without revealing his hidden power, he'd need to free Kakashi.

"Calm down." Naruto takes control of the team. "Mizu Bunshin take chakra to create, even when there's a water source. Every time he creates one, he's weakening himself and Kakashi stands a better chance at beating him." He only says it to give Sasuke some good morale. Sakura wouldn't be effective in the remainder of the fight.

"That'd be smart thinking kid, if you hadn't revealed your hand already. You got nothing left to kill me." Zabuza mocks.

'He thinks that we're going to do the same thing again. He's not expecting raw power.'

"Get ready, Sasuke." Naruto orders with narrowed eyes. He whispers his next order. "Follow me up with something to get at Zabuza's hand."

Sasuke nods, hand hidden from Zabuza's view behind most of his body.

"Your clone should have hidden in the water if you didn't want to lose that power." Naruto begins to weave hand-signs while taking a deep breath.

"Katon: Goryuuka no Jutsu!"

An eruption of flame from Naruto's mouth constitutes itself into a massive dragon head.

Clone Zabuza's eyes widen at as the fast-moving Jutsu blasts through the air and immediately eviscerates him.

The Jutsu continues to fly and is pointed directly at the real Zabuza.

"What the-?" Zabuza moved behind the Water Prison, needing to maintain it instead of letting go so that Kakashi couldn't escape.

If he sank into the water, the chakra pulsing through his body to maintain the Water Prison might skitter across his body and make an orb size that he couldn't maintain. The best thing he could do was take cover. His Jutsu wouldn't break so long as he maintained control.

The Goryuuka smashes into Kakashi's cage and water funnels upward to replace and strengthen the Jutsu. The water orb is broken enough that Kakashi can just get a quick breath of air before the high-level Suiton reconstitutes and barely manages to disperse the flames. The Jutsu protects Kakashi although he definitely felt some hairs singe. Zabuza too, is mostly unharmed.

"Some brat you got Kakashi." Zabuza snarls at him through the steam.

'That Jutsu would have obliterated anyone elses Suiton.' Kakashi is thinking a bit more clearly. The air he'd gotten was not going to waste. 'If it weren't for the fact that we're fighting on a lake, we'd both be toast. Naruto... you're really something else.'

Kakashi catches a glimpse of a tiny shadow with the refined vision of his Sharingan. He nearly smiles.

'And trust Sasuke to take advantage too. Looks like Silent Killing works both ways, Zabuza.'

A shuriken passes the Water Prison, and is pinged off of the one hiding in its shadow. The Shuriken's trajectory is clearly calculated and rips the flesh on Zabuza's arm.

"ARGH!" Zabuza wrenches his hand free from the water.

Kakashi falls into the water once the prison breaks down.

Zabuza sees that his advantage is lost, so makes his final move.

He draws his Kubikiribocho and makes a last-ditch rush to assassinate Tazuna.

"Hold your ground!" Naruto orders. Zabuza is closing in and Naruto weaves the signs for a concussive Futon Jutsu just in case but it's already clear.

He knows that this fight has turned in their favor.

Kakashi explodes out of the earth before Zabuza can land the killing blow. He kicks Zabuza's hand enough to throw his arm and the blade backwards and follows up with another kick that had enough force to put Zabuza back on the water. He gets back on the water despite the field advantage that Zabuza has. Clearly, he has predicted the outcome of the fight. He starts weaving the same signs as Zabuza, at the exact same speed.

"Are you-"

"-Reading my mind?" Kakashi finishes, and catches Zabuza off-guard by changing the hand-signs he was using to a different Jutsu. He uses what stamina and Chakra he could throw into it.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

It was as if the entire lake turned against Zabuza. The water forms a whirlpool in the air in front of Kakashi and grows in size and speed and the maelstrom is too massive and fast for Zabuza to flee. He is pummeled by concussive barrages of water and nearly drowns against a tree. The eruption of Water Chakra uproots much of the foliage and leaves the Genin in genuine amazement at Kakashi's skill.

Zabuza coughs and sputters and has no counter to Kakashi when the Konoha Jounin is pointing a kunai to his neck.

"Can you see the future?" Zabuza vomits up some more water.

"Yes. And your future... is death."

Two senbon to the neck do the deed before Kakashi can finish him off.

'What?! A hunter-nin?!'

'So now you decide to act.' Naruto thought, though the outcome of the hidden ninja killing the missing-nin was not entirely what he expected.

"I thank you for your assistance, Hatake Kakashi-san." The voice is surprisingly young. Now that he is closer, Naruto can tell that his chakra is more powerful than expected. "I'll be recovering Zabuza-san now."

Kakashi doesn't move away and instead checks for Zabuza's pulse.

"Dead." He confirms and makes a weary retreat to his team on land.

The hunter takes Zabuza's corpse and vanishes in a Shunshin no Jutsu.

Kakashi breaths an obvious sigh of exhaustion and relief.

"Alright team, I think we need to have some rest-" Kakashi falls face-first.

Naruto runs to collect Kakashi and puts him safely on the shore of the lake.

"We-we're not far now!" Tazuna's voice is shaky. "I've got somewhere we can put him so he can recover."

'I've never been so scared in my life. These kids- they really are shinobi!'

They make it to Tazuna's home as quickly as they can. Naruto is tall enough that he can at least keep the barely-conscious Kakashi up by slinging Jounin's arm over his shoulders. Kakashi can only manage small steps in his exhaustion but probably wouldn't be making them at all without Naruto propping him up.

'Seems like the Sharingan takes quite the toll on your body.'

Passing several dilapidated buildings on their way to Tazuna's home, the team spots people giving them weary glances. As Tazuna said, the people are visibly hard-pressed for money judging by the condition of their clothes and closed shops and warehouses. Naruto tries to focus on potential ambushes instead but can't help his mind wandering to the fight.

Naruto is impressed at the abject ability that Zabuza has for fighting on and in water. This is definitely something that he can learn from and use in the future.

But the fight also made him frustrated. He knew that he couldn't join in without revealing his Sharingan, something that he was saving for a special occasion. It made him consider just showing his team so that he could fight unabated. Unfortunately, the existence of several factors in Konoha's power hierarchy made it unlikely that Team 7 wouldn't be able to keep that ability secret between them. Mission reports would change drastically based on newly revealed abilities and may be made obvious that Kakashi would be trying to keep something under wraps. Naruto couldn't trust that he wouldn't become the center of attention instead of Sasuke and have his eyes stolen by the faction responsible for cleaning up the Uchiha Incident before anyone else knew that he had it. If he revealed the Sharingan and further Uchiha power publicly, it creates such a fuss that it would be impossible to ignore that he is an Uchiha. He would be placed under public scrutiny, but that meant friendly eyes on him and making a move on him for his Sharigan would be political suicide. A mission with only a handful of people didn't warrant using his full power, regardless of the strength of Zabuza.

While he'd been thinking, they approached Tazuna's place on a river side. It was homely all things considered. Tazuna at least seems to take care of his family.

"Tsunami! I'm home!" Tazuna announces before getting to the door. Footsteps can be heard pitter-pattering on the wooden floor before the door is opened wide.

"Tou-san!" Tsunami lunges into his arms.

"It's good to see you." Tazuna returns the hug. "Where's my grandson?"

"Out on the peer, like usual." Tsunami's smile falters.

Tazuna grumbles a bit before stepping aside and giving room for the Shinobi to step in.

"Follow me, we have an empty room out back where you can put your Sensei down."

"Oh my..." Tsunami looks at the shinobi with thinly disguised interest. She seems concerned that Naruto is carrying the only adult among them.

Naruto sets Kakashi down on a makeshift bed that Tsunami quickly laid out for him. He sits down next to the indisposed Jounin who quickly faded into unconsciousness.

"That sucked." Is all he can say.

"What do we do now?" Sakura wrings her hands nervously after sitting down.

"We need to make sure Kakashi recovers. This mission is going to be whole lot harder without him." Sasuke points out reasonably. "He's taking it pretty well all things considered. I thought he'd be out long before we got here."

Naruto nods in agreement. "But we still have time. It will take a while to replace Zabuza so we have some time to move freely through Nami. Sakura, check Kakashi's pouch for soldier pills. If he has any then they'll have been made by his wife. She's a skilled Medical Kunoichi."

"I'm going to set up traps around the house." Sasuke delegates that job to himself and exits the house swiftly.

"Don't go anywhere without me, Tazuna." Naruto orders the bridge builder. "I know that you want to rest and catch up with your workers but the situation has changed."

"R-right. Gotcha." Tazuna is weirded out by the serious demeanor on the young man.

Kakashi continues to fade in and out of sleep. Sakura was looking at Naruto while he addressed Tazuna and didn't see their Sensei quickly pull down his mask and flick the soldier pills out of her finger-tip grip on them.

"Eh?" Sakura completely missed the movement.

"Hmm. Thanks Sakura." Kakashi smiles before falling back again.

"You're not making this easy for us, Kakashi." Naruto rolls his eyes.

It takes Sasuke an hour to set up traps in the trees, in the water and under the jetty of Tazuna's home. They'd been made deliberately with enough wiggle-room that only normal civilian exit and entry was possible. Anyone trying to sneak in by jumping on the roof or coming through the water would be in for some nasty surprises. He is soaked when he returns but Tsunami praises his efforts and gives him several towels to dry himself off before coming inside.

Having got a better view of the woman while she was fretting over him, Sasuke almost looks like he'd seen a ghost.

"Reminder of the lost?" Naruto asks, quietly enough that Sakura couldn't hear.

"She looks like my mother." Sasuke reveals just as quietly. He is relatively somber but it's easy to see it as just being grumpy for being in the water. It slowly fades and he begins to look thoughtful instead.

Naruto sees Kakashi stir back into consciousness. He looks much more aware than he did when they arrived.

"You're okay!" Sakura looks nearly ready to cry.

Kakashi smiles, wincing a bit when he sits up.

"How long have I been out?"

"A few hours at most. Looks like your soldier pills work the charm." Naruto answers offhandedly, relaxing a bit now that their leader is lucid enough to talk.

"Hmm-hmm. That's Shizune for you." Kakashi props himself up against the thin wall. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think we have bad news."

The Genin really didn't want that to be the first thing Kakashi said to them.

"I think... Zabuza may still be alive."

With unfortunate timing, Tazuna and Tsunami walk into the room as he said it.

"What the hell? You saw what that kid did, he killed that crazy ninja!"

"With Senbon. Not a tool often used for murder, even discreetly."

Kakashi goes on to explain his reasoning for why he thinks that the masked-nin is actually an accomplice instead of an official of Kiri.

"It just gets worse." Tazuna bemoans.

"I understand that you may be scared, Tazuna-san but remain calm. These two elites have shown their hand a bit in that fight. I have a pretty good assessment of the set of skills that Zabuza uses. The real issue is the accomplice."

Naruto makes his own assessment known. "I believe that the hunter-nin is a Kekkei-Genkai wielder. He has an unusual chakra that I have never felt before but I believe that it is Hyoton."

"Care to explain?" Kakashi fishes for more info.

"I've been refining my sensory abilities to be able to distinguish chakra natures. The chakra nature of this hunter resonates strongly with Wind and Water, and is unusually strong on top of that."

"But you don't know for sure?"

Naruto shakes his head slightly. "No, I'm not that good at it yet. But I still think they wield some kind of Kekkei-Genkai."

"It's better than nothing. Good work. You three have your work cut out for you, so I expect that you'll take what I have to teach you very seriously."

"We're going to train?" Sasuke finds the suggestion of training in the middle of a mission a tad unusual.

"You don't have any choice." Kakashi states bluntly. "If you want a chance of survival then you'll have to learn. And it just so happens that I have the perfect chakra control exercise for you."

"Kakashi." Naruto starts before Sakura can start an enquiry of what they're learning. "How could Zabuza push you this far? I know your reputation, I thought something like this would be easier for you."

"His reputation is about the same as mine." Kakashi shrugs. "And it's well-earned. They don't call him Demon for nothing. He has very, very potent chakra as evident by his skill at using multiple Suiton Jutsu at the same time. And normally, the Sharingan can see right through Jutsu on the level of Mizu Bunshin. It is obvious that they are clones to people who wield Dojutsu, but Zabuza's chakra is incredibly powerful and every clone he creates looks like the real deal to me. It takes very dense chakra that even I can't see the difference with my Sharingan and had to rely on my own clone tactics to identify the real one."

"Is he stronger than you, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asks nervously.

"I don't know." Kakashi answers honestly. "But what he won't have this time is the advantage of a water source. This puts my odds of beating him significantly higher than before. It's the accomplice that we should be more worried about. Zabuza will likely come after me again, so you three will be the ones fighting the hunter. So, I'll say it again, I expect you to take what I have to say seriously. It's a matter of life and death."

The mood is quite grim.

"But we'll start tomorrow. I don't have it in me to move right now"

Tazuna and Tsunami look quite clearly out of their depth. These were children, talking about risking their lives.

Sasuke clearly has something on his mind still.

"Naruto." Sasuke addresses him. Naruto looks at him blankly. "Why are you so strong?"

He is silent for a moment, not really sure what kind of half-truth he could give at such a direct question but manages to conjure something close enough to the truth. He starts weaving a tale in order to compound the importance of his strength.

"I first learned to kill when I was nine." Naruto starts off with little emotion. Sakura recoils while Kakashi's eye widens. "It was made pretty clear to me in the orphanage that the only future that awaited me and my fellow orphans was to become shinobi. I trained like everyone else but I couldn't afford to grow stronger and make ends meet by feeding myself and paying bills. There was a certain incident that prevented people like me from graduating early at the Academy so I wasn't able to become a Genin and do missions to earn money."

'The Uchiha Incident.' Kakashi identifies the problem child that caused Konoha to reevaluate graduation procedure.

"So, I used the Bingo Book in order to find easy prey like rogue Genin or vagrant criminals with bounties on their heads, so that I could continue to fuel my growth. Those outings took me everywhere in Hi no Kuni, and it wasn't always easy to defeat them. I quickly learned that if I couldn't defeat small fry like this as a Shinobi, then I was just going to die. I couldn't get stronger without buying shinobi resources like Jutsu scrolls and tools, and I couldn't provide basic necessities to myself if I bought those things. I needed easy influxes of cash to get the best of both worlds, and those missions gave me experience at fighting. I became stronger out of necessity. Orphans like me don't really get that much of a choice."

"B-but," Sakura stammers out, realizing that some people had it really different to her. "Why didn't you... get adopted? Or-or sponsored or given a normal job? Anything?"

"I don't know." Naruto lied. He knew perfectly well that the system had been manipulated around him to ensure that he became a Shinobi. "I'm just one of the unlucky ones that there wasn't any room for in normal civilian life. There were already plenty of orphans from the Kyuubi Incident twelve years ago and most people had enough mouths to feed as it is. I just fell through the cracks and was lucky enough to gain enough strength to be a shinobi and not a criminal. I grew up around other orphans who were in the same boat as me, learn to be a shinobi or die. I choose to live."

"And it's not all bad." Naruto attempts to move the conversation away from his past. "At no point did I ever not have a roof over my head to come home to. The people in this country don't appear to have the same luxury right now."

There is a moment of silence before Naruto decides to open his mouth.

"I expected some restraint from you, Kakashi."

"Oh Kawaii-Genin mine, what have I done to deserve your ire this time?"

"Shizune has been spoiling you. You've gotten too heavy to just lug around, your dad-bod is holding back the team."

Tsunami looks mystified at the sudden way the Genin is talking to his sensei.

"I'll be sure to let Shizune know of your displeasure." Kakashi eye-smiles, making it quite clear that Shizune would rip his ear off for suggesting that she wasn't taking care of her husband.

"No need for that," Naruto deflects coolly. "I just want you to consider what's in the best interests of the team."

Kakashi scoffs, but sees that their poking fun at each other has lightened the rooms mood.

The next day consists of Kakashi training Sasuke and Sakura to perform the Tree-Climbing Exercise. Naruto makes it known that he can already perform it and is instead delegated to bodyguarding Tazuna full-time. Sasuke has enough Jutsu under his belt to make use of the chakra control exercise and instead merely struggles to perform it until mastering it by evening. Sakura is put through her paces after making it obvious that the exercise is too easy for her, and is instead taught a diversionary Genjutsu by Kakashi, topping it off with some light Taijutsu pointers to make sure she's up to scratch. The team doesn't see hide nor hair of Tazuna's grandson throughout their stay at his home, but Tazuna just chalks it up to the boy being depressed. He makes it evident that he and Tsunami are seeing him, and Naruto has spotted him to make sure that he hadn't been kidnapped and the Inari hanging around the house was the real one.

Naruto points out that Tazuna, despite being dedicated to the nation and having the drive to defy a millionaire criminal like Gato, is an emotional man that can be manipulated by his family. He suggests that Tsunami and Inari should be hidden, and one of them should take their place in disguise in case Gato sends men after them. Naruto is the only one capable of using Kage Bunshin that could also use Henge and they could hardly leave Kakashi behind when Zabuza was still on the prowl, so naturally Naruto would remain in Tazuna's home. They make this plan discreetly and without Tazuna's knowledge. Tazuna's reaction would be genuine if Naruto disguised as his family were brought to the bridge which, would therein make the kidnappers cocky. Unless Naruto killed them before reaching the bridge if they went too far, of course.

Kakashi had recovered quickly. It made Naruto suspect that Kakashi had held back in the fight in order to guage what his team would do. He picked a hell of time to do it if his suspicion was true.

Nothing happens for a full week before drama starts to unfold on the bridge. Tazuna and Team 7 sans Naruto left early. After leaving, Naruto enacts the plan of having a Kage Bunshin escort the family to the section of housing they arrived in when arriving in Nami initially. The real Naruto and another Kage Bunshin remained in wait at Tazuna's home, transformed to look like Tsunami and Inari.

The oppressive mist rolls in. The Genin duo tighten their guard around Tazuna. The workers evacuate by climbing down long rope ladders and jumping into boats that head back to shore. Knowing that they are at a disadvantage if Tazuna goes with them in the water, he and Team 7 remain on the bridge.

"Looks like you're one Genin down, Kakashi." Zabuza's malicious grin is visble through his bandages.

"I wouldn't be so concerned about him if I were you. You and your accomplice have enough to worry about as it is."

"HA!" Zabuza throws on a blustering laugh. "Haku isn't some small fry Genin like your little team. He may even be stronger than I am."

"Then I'll be sure to end you quickly before that strength can be put to use." Kakashi voice is no-nonsense and confident, like he has nothing at all to fear.

Zabuza looks caught off by the demeanor. He looks into the Sharingan of his current oponment and wonders if the man is greater than the legend.

"Haku. Get rid of the Genin."

"Hai, Zabuza-sama."

Sasuke has locked Haku into a stalemate. The Hunter has revealed the secret of being an Ice Release wielder, just as Naruto speculated. Sasuke's Sharingan is strong enough now to be able to predict the flight path of Haku's Jutsu and is always able to dodge at the last second. Unfortunately, Shurikenjutsu nor Katon had any effect on the Ice Ninjutsu, and that became painfully evident when the masked hunter unleases a secret technique.

"Makyo Hyosho!"

Mirrors of ice surround Sasuke entirely and cut him off from the outside. He is now singularly dependant on his ability to intercept Haku whenever he attempts to attack. Taijutsu seems to be the only viable option. Haku can't land any blows but neither can Sasuke, and unfortunately Sasuke can feel his stamina and speed dropping slowly.

He employs some rudimentary chakra control to increase speed in his legs to try and finish things off before he got too tired, but Haku has become wise to his strategy and is attacking cautiously rather than expediently.

'If this goes on, I won't survive much longer.' Desperation begins to claw at Sasuke's mind and unnoticed to him, his Sharingan gains an extra tomoe to cope with the life-or-death stress. He can't predict Haku's attacks without it but it's draining his chakra even more now.

"Naruto!" Sakura is happy that the strongest of the Genin has arrived on the bridge.

"Not Naruto. A Kage Bunshin." Naruto nods discreetly, making it known to Sakura that this is the clone who escorted the real Tsunami and Inari to safety.

"Shit kid," Tazuna understands that these may be his last moments and everything is on the line. "Is my family ok?"

"I'll dispel if the real me is badly hurt enough." Naruto explains. "Since I'm still here, your family is fine. Sakura, tell me everything that's happened."

Sakura goes on to explain as quickly as she can what he managed to see before the Ice Mirrors blocked view of everything else happening on the bridge.

"Sasuke-kun tried using his Katon but it barely did anything at all!"

"But something happened? What did the Katon do?" Naruto presses for intel.

"They melted just a little bit, but they just reformed like nothing happened! He kept trying but-" Sakura clenches her eyes shut. "Please help him?"

"I will." Naruto assures. "Stay with Tazuna."

The clone leaps deftly into the air and senses carefully where exactly Sasuke is in the dome of mirrors. To his confusion, the hunters chakra signature appears to be manifesting evenly in the entirety of the dome. It surrounds Sasuke too much for the Kage Bunshin to get an accurate reading. He has no choice but to jump in instead of risking injury or death to Sasuke.

He leaps to the very top, weaving hand signs once he gets a glance of Sasuke in the middle, who is exhausted and about to be skewered by Ice Senbon.

"Futon: Shinku Tobikomu!(Wind Release: Vacuum Dive)."

Naruto's clone is sucked down by swirling wind chakra around his form, through the gap at the top of the dome.

The rapid vacuum-enhanced dive builds up more wind chakra and as soon as he lands next to Sasuke, streams of the wind chakra blast out from his legs before forming into a rapidly expanding spinning dome of wind. It blasts away the Ice Senbon before slamming inneffectually into the mirrors.

"You should have stayed outside." Sasuke says while panting.

"I didn't have much choice. After this is over you can thank me with dinner."

Sasuke doesn't have a response to that and isntead focuses on staying alive.

The Hunter makes his opinion known. "It doesn't matter if there's two or ten of you. I will not fail Zabuza-sama."

"This guy, Haku. It's like you said Naruto, his Kekkei-Genkai uses strong chakra. It makes unmeltable ice." Sasuke informs Naruto's clone what Sakura had already told him.

"Not unmeltable, but it doesn't matter. My Jutsu is also on another level." Naruto starts weaving signs for a dense Katon of his own.

"Katon: Ryuen Hoka no Jutsu!" Naruto breaths out five dragon heads, smaller than the one he used against Zabuza but with the same concussive energy and strength. They expand and burn with extreme heat, but the sheer velocity is what shatters the mirrors on the upper half of the dome."

"Useless." Haku reforms the mirrors perfectly back into the dome.

"Naruto! I just said-" Sasuke stops upon realising that Naruto is doing the same thing as in the fight with Zabuza. For as long as Haku tries to maintain the dome, he would expend massive amounts of chakra.

And Naruto is one of the few people in all of Konoha with more chakra than Kakashi. Sasuke tries not to relax when he gets that the fight was won the moment Naruto turned up.

Naruto continues to blitz the mirrors with the same Jutsu over and over again.

'I'm sorry Zabuza-sama! This boy is too much for me to handle!'

Haku feels his strength wane but knows he is an easy target if the mirrors falter. The boy with the Sharingan is no longer capable of making use of his predictive abilities, but it doesn't appear that the tall one is in a hurry to kill him. He's playing the waiting game.

The hunter becomes desperate when he hears a chirping sound and the unmistakable glow of Raiton Chakra from where his master is fighting.

"I'm sorry, Konoha Shinobi. But I must call our fight early."

The mirrors shatter immediately. Clone-Naruto's reflexes are severely impaired by the rapidly decreasing chakra it its body but he catches Haku by the leg before he can flee to assist Zabuza.

"NO!" Haku screams, his wild chakra spurts out of his body and the icy surface of the bridge encases Clone-Naruto in an iceberg.

It is too late however. The time that Naruto brought Kakashi proved fatal to Haku's master. Haku stops on the spot when he sees Zabuza, held completely immobile by a pack of dogs and with a palm of lightning through his chest.

There is a pregnant pause. Haku stands completely still looking at the final moment of his master.

And then, a howl of depsair and anguish sends chills down their spines.

"YOU!" Haku screams at the frozen clone.

He breaks out into a sprint. Sasuke hobbles his way back to Tazuna, but Haku doesn't make it that far. The Kage Bunshin encased in ice violently explodes, sending out shards that bury into Haku's stomach and arms. He is sent flying and lands mid way between the explosion site and Kakashi.

His death is quick. He isn't concious by the time he lands and shards buried in his flesh are scraped out from rolling across the surface of the bridge. There is a long trail of freezing blood.

Haku is dead within the minute. It is an unspectacular death that made Sasuke's stomach churn.

Kakashi calls them over and away from the end of the unfinished bridge.

'Tsunami' and 'Inari' do not jolt on receiving new memories.

The guards surrounding them on the dinghy's they had commandeered seemingly have nothing to fear.

A small army of mercenary criminals lead them up the workers ladders to the end of the bridge. They are thirty strong and armed with basic weaponry.

And even Gato himself is present. Gloating loudly from his yacht before deighning to be the first to climb up to the top of the bridge. With some assistance. His pathetic, stubby little legs were incapable of doing so without help.

Naruto imposes a subtle Genjutsu on his guides. One to make sure they kept their blades sheathed. He puts on his best acting face.

"TOU-SAN! RUN!" 'Tsunami' screams at her 'father'.

"Tsunami?! Gato... you MONSTER!"

"Kehehe! This little game of cat and mouse is done." Gato grins confidently.

He walks forward and stumbles upon the corpse of Haku.

"I should have known you'd be useless, hehe." Gato kicks the body with a little giggle.

"You sick fuck!" Sasuke curses and his internal fury burst out of him hatefully. Kakashi's hand on his shoulder prevents him from doing anything.

"I don't know why I even bothered to bring your family here." Gato strolls over Haku. The mercenaries rally behind him. "Looking at you now, so pathetic and beaten down. It reminds of that son in law of yours." He grins again. "Very nostalgic. And like him, you've been a pain in my ass for too long. I'm glad those tools of shinobi I hired were enough to tire your bodyguards. Nami no Kuni is mine as it rightfully should have been from the start! The battle for this country-"

'Tsunami' vanishes and reappears to whisper in Gato's ear.

"-Is over?"

Gato whirls around to a 'pop' of smoke, revealing that Tsunami was in fact a disguised Shinobi.

"GET HIM YOU FOOLS!" Gato screams in fear.

Inari's transformation dispels and reveals a Kage Bunshin of Naruto.

Mercenary civilians are but like chopping through Academy students. The clone makes use of their own weapons against them. It doesn't so much as bother to use Ninjutsu. They cannot advance and the gruesome display of buthery takes apart the traitors to their nation. These men were once citizens of Nami and their greed had nearly destroyed it. There would be no mercy from Naruto.

Gato drops his cane and stumbles away from the real Naruto. Naruto walks sedately while Gato attempts to flee down the bridge, continually looking over his shoulder at Naruto who on practically on his heels with no effort.

Kakashi lets go of Sasuke's shoulder.

The Crime Lord makes looks back once more to see Naruto has stopped, and is promptly skewered in the back by two kunai.

"Rot in hell you monster." Are the last words Gato hears from Sasuke before he departs this world.

He drops unceremoniously to the unforgiving cold concrete.

Naruto's clone dispels after mercilessly slaughtering Gato's army. Their blood drips off the end of the bridge and makes red swirls in the sea.

"C'mon, Sasuke. Let's pay our respects." They both walk up to Haku's body.

Naruto is filled with a sensation of sympathy and respect, but it is not comfortable in the slightest. Here was someone who had failed to protect his loved one, his precious person. It invigorates his desire for power even more. Naruto has killed many times in the past, many despicable men and women who commited crimes against people for enjoyment. He has never felt so uncomfortable killing someone who he felt that in another life, he could have been friends with.

"I hope you have better on the other side." Naruto respectfully arranges Haku's body so that he didn't look like just some other casualty.

Sasuke on the other hand has seen himself in this Hyoton Shinobi. He stares down at the corpse that previously attacked Naruto with unimaginable animalistic vigor. He sees that this boy was hurting so much that he essentially threw away his life after losing his purpose. The intense love he felt for his master turned to stronger hatred. Is this what he would become? Would he throw away his life for the sake of taking another? Should he learn to preserve himself instead, and preserve the Uchiha Clan through other means?

It is a conflicting conundrum. He begins to see defeating Itachi as a means to an end instead of his goal, his purpose. For as long as that man lives, any legacy he may try to rebirth through the ashes of his clan would be at risk. Itachi must die. Not because he slighted Sasuke, but for his duty to protect the future of the Uchiha Clan.

Sakura doesn't step even a foot away from Kakashi. She hugs her Sensei finally breaks down after this nightmare mission has traumatised her.

Tazuna respectfully stays silent until Team 7 come to terms with the situation. No work was done on the bridge for the rest of the day.

Tazuna finishes the bridge in a shorter than expected time frame after the citizens of Nami are invigorated with good morale following the death of Gato and his mercenary army.

Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi bury Haku and Zabuza. Sakura makes a pretty and natural display for the wooden marker on Haku's grave, while Zabuza's headstone is his sword buried into the earth. They pay their respects silently to Haku.

On the day of departure, Team 7 stands ready to cross the bridge on foot and return home. Tazuna makes a speech about the grand shinobi he'd hired before shooting off names for the bridge.

"How about it, the 'Mighty Tazuna Bridge'?"

"No." Is the overwhelming consensus of the crowd.

Naruto cares very little for staying a moment longer and starts walking. Sasuke and Sakura are in similar moods so they follow. Kakashi waves over his shoulder but gives no further formality.

They are out of view when the bridge name is officially decided.

"Alright fine. We won't name it after anyone. How about... The Great Salvation Bridge? For honor of our return to normalcy."

"Yes!" Is the overwhelming consensus of the crowd.

Team 7 arrives at the gates of Konoha. Kakashi dismisses them, gives them the spiel about getting rest and bids them goodbye while he goes to the Hokage Tower to make his report.

Naruto makes a beeline for home. This mission has taken more out of him than he thought. Not physically, but his mind had been toiling over what happened for the entire trip home. He needed something to distract him.

After stepping out of the first warm shower he'd had in three weeks, he looks at himself in mirror and is startled by something.

"This is..." Naruto takes in the pattern on his Sharingan.

His hands trace around his eyes, he pulls the skin around them as if to get a better look.

"Mangekyou."

Chapter 5 end

I should also clarify that the conditions for Naruto's Sharingan advancement are not the same as a normal Uchiha's. I alluded to that in an earlier chapter when Madara mentions potential 'freedom from a curse'. I won't spoil that, but know in advance that Naruto isn't like any Uchiha who has come before him due to his grandfathers choices.