6

/~/

Mist was apparently a staple of Wave Country. So much so that after three days, Naruto thought that Kirigakure ought to be relocated. Between the rain, cold, and almost perpetual misty atmosphere, the Kiri ninjas would feel right at home.

The blond pulled his cloak about him tighter to combat the early morning chill. Fire Country was aptly named, and it wasn't for its trees. Naruto was unused to chilly temperatures during all but the winter months. Even then, that was only in the morning before it warmed considerably. It didn't help him now that he wore short sleeved clothing and shorts. He was lucky that he brought his cloak with him on a whim.

He wasn't sure how the workers could stand working in such conditions, but they all seemed perfectly adjusted to the climate. Many of them were even wearing shorts!

Naruto frowned from his elevated position in one of the nearby trees in Wave Country. Tazuna was up and alert, directing his workers in a way that Naruto wouldn't have thought capable of the drunk had he not seen it with his own eyes. The blonde's conceptions of his client were rapidly being destroyed.

He was still an ass, though, and it seemed to have rubbed off on his grandson.

"Why do you try so hard?" The boy had tears in his eyes.

Naruto raised a curious head to face the eight year old. This was first the boy had spoken to the group since they had arrived days previous.

"Excuse me?" That was Ino, collapsed in the corner after a day's training.

"You heard me! Why do you try so damn hard when all you're gonna do is die?" Tears were freely streaming down the boy's face. "It doesn't matter how much you train, none of you are a match for Gatou's men."

Blue eyes found the orbs of his team members, and Naruto raised a silent eyebrow. Three head shakes met him. They didn't know what was up either.

"No matter what claims you make or how hard you work, you're still gonna die. The weak always get killed by the strong!" the boy yelled.

Team Ten was stunned. The boy hadn't said so much as a word for nearly a week, and suddenly he was bursting out in tears. It wasn't expected.

Asuma glanced at Tazuna and Tsunami to see them looking downward, not even making an attempt to stop the boy's tirade.

Naruto leaned back in his chair, idly draping an arm around the back. "Who are you to call us weak? We've protected your grandfather so far, haven't we?" He raised an eyebrow at the boy.

That sent the boy over the edge. He slammed his hands on the table. "You don't know a thing about us, yet you're being nosy. You're always acting up and being cheerful, but you don't know a thing about having a hard life!" The boy snorted and sent a glare at the now fuming Naruto. "I'd hate to be like you."

"Who're you to call us nosy, huh, shrimp?" Kiba crowed from his rest on the floor. "You're grandpa is the one who brought us into this, and we're helping him when we don't have to. Show some damn respect."

"You're all so stupid," the boy whispered aghast and as if they're deaths were a foregone conclusion. "Gatou is too strong for you guys. You're just gonna die like the rest of them."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "You know, kid, you grandpa's a pretty strong guy. He's standing up to Gatou. Is he going to die too?" His voice was deceptively calm.

Inari had no answer.

"You've got some fucking nerve coming up in here; acting like this is all some tragedy for you to star in. Your grandpa's a lying, cheating, drunk piece of crap who dragged us into this mess, but he's doing something good for your country. I thought you'd have some respect for that," Naruto's disgust dripped through his every word like venom, "but I guess I was wrong."

"You say you'd hate to be like us, but I'd hate to be like you. You sit here and cry all day, acting like you have some right to wallow in misery while your grandfather risks his life to help you. You disrespect him, and you disrespect us, the people who are trying to keep him alive." Naruto rose in a swift motion, towering above the terrified boy. "You're nothing but a weak little crybaby. Grow up."

He spit at the boy's feet before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto really couldn't care less about the boy's respect, but he wasn't about to let the boy talk down to him about not having a hard life. His life was full of sensitive information, however, and he couldn't exactly tell the boy about the Kyuubi, so he had settled for the next best thing.

Tsunami had pulled him aside later on to apologize for her son's behavior. She had fed him some sob story about a guy named Kaiza, who Inari had thought of as a father.

It had only increased Naruto's disgust with the boy. He was not only dishonoring his grandfather, but his adopted father as well.

Naruto supposed that he may have been a bit unreasonable with respect to the boy, he was only eight and had been the subject of his very own tragic life, but he couldn't help it. Weakness was one of the few things that Naruto hated, mostly as a result of what lay ahead of him in the future, and Inari had it in spades.

He had had countless opportunities to pussy out and give up when he had been younger, but he hadn't. Even in the face of overwhelming odds in the form of a high level ninja group bent on his eventual death, he had refused to bow to fate and give up.

More than anything, Naruto couldn't help but look at Inari and see a reflection of himself. It wasn't clear, and it wasn't accurate, but it was a picture of what he could have been if he had been less resilient. Weaker.

It was disturbing how easily Naruto could see what he might have been when he looked at Inari, and he hated it. He hated it with every fiber of his being. Weakness wasn't something he abided. It would get him killed, and everything he had ever done for over four years had been to avoid that outcome.

He blinked quickly to refocus. A new man had come to the bridge, and Naruto readied a kunai in case he was hostile. A quick wrist movement and he would be dead before he knew what happened.

The man was nervous, that much Naruto could see from his position. He kept glancing to his left and right, checking for people near him, before looking over his left shoulder. Whoever he was, Naruto was sure that he was no assassin.

"Iwamoto-san!" Tazuna called from his spot looking over plans. A bottle of sake lay half drunk next to him. "What can I do for ya'?"

Naruto lowered his kunai as the man was recognized. He wasn't sure what the man's intentions were, but he obviously knew Tazuna. It didn't stop him from remaining alert, however.

The man named Iwamoto shuffled over to the bridge builder quickly.

"T-Tazuna-san," he stuttered. "Ah, I'm not quite sure what to say, but – " he glanced over his left shoulder once more, and Naruto followed his eyes.

A small shack stood off to the side of the bridge, with a clear view of where Tazuna and his friend were standing. Cerulean eyes narrowed as they attempted to pinpoint what the nervous man was looking for.

A glint of sharpened steel was all the warning Naruto had. Archer!

The blond was in motion before he knew what he was doing. Concentration was sharpened to a pinpoint in a split second, and Naruto exploded into Shunshin.

The man named Iwamoto went flying as Naruto barreled through him. One hand pushed Tazuna to the ground, while the other hand reached up and plucked an arrow out of the air easily. Naruto's eyes searched it for a moment, and he chucked to the water as he caught sight of the tag on it.

"Get down!" he yelled as he roughly pulled Tazuna under his body.

The arrow detonated in midair. Naruto felt the impact, but was hardly shaken. The tag had been low grade.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Iwamoto was repeating, his head tucked into his hands. The other workers had pulled him away from Tazuna hurriedly and had thrown him on the ground. "He took my family! You have to understand!" the man continued to sob. A crowd of workers had gathered around him threateningly.

Naruto tore his gaze from the man and gestured for Tazuna to stay down. "You alright?"

The drunk nodded shakily. "Y-yeah. I think so."

"Good. The rest of my team would have heard the explosion from nearby, and they'll be on their way. Stay down until they get here, I'm going after the shooter," Naruto explained quickly. This had been a one shot deal, and he had little time to catch the would-be assassin before he disappeared if the man was any good.

Tazuna nodded once, resolutely. "Okay."

Naruto glanced about, mentally doing a few hasty calculations to determine the likely escape route of the archer. Blue eyes rested on the rickety house that was adjacent to the bridge's entrance and about one hundred and fifty yards away.

The archer had been a good one to make the shot as accurate as he did. The tag would have taken care of the rest had he missed.

"Is that building abandoned?" he asked Tazuna.

The man followed his line of sight and nodded. "Yeah, it was abandoned when Gatou's men killed the family inside. No one wanted to live there."

It was perfect. With close proximity to the bridge, the archer would have had a clear shot at Tazuna. All he had needed was to know which one he was among the workers. That's where Iwamoto had come in.

Naruto sped through seals with the precise expertise of a master. He reared back and expelled a Fuuton: Renkudan at the house, watching with satisfaction as the concentrated bullet of wind blew the wooden abode to pieces.

A quick Kawarimi later, Naruto was amidst the rubble, ignoring the shouts from the nearby city streets.

Naruto turned his head about quickly, searching for a sign of the shooter. There was no sign of him, but Naruto picked up a discarded longbow that was left behind.

This was no shinobi's work; at least not the work of a good one. There wouldn't be any evidence left behind. That fact alone reassured Naruto. He could wait for his team. The man wouldn't have gotten far.

The cacophony of confusion was left behind as Naruto made his way back to the bridge.

/~/

"You're not surprised?"

Asuma shrugged. "It makes sense. Gatou's not stupid. Even if Zabuza is alive, he has to be pretty expensive to employ. Remember, Gatou's a business man, and taking a shot at Tazuna while he's more exposed makes sense from a monetary standpoint, especially if he doesn't need to use his more expensive help."

Naruto nodded in acceptance of the point. "The attack almost worked anyway. I didn't see the note until the last second."

"All the more reason to have both Kiba and Ino on the bridge at the same time. Two sets of eyes are better than one, and Akamaru can help Kiba smell a hostile long before they get within sight."

Naruto sent the man a questioning look. "You think that Gatou'll send another attack?"

Asuma shook his head in the negative. "No, I agree that this was probably a one shot deal, but there's no sense in not being prepared if he does. Kiba and Ino can complete their training there, in any event, and I'll be by to supervise for the most part."

"They're not done yet?" Naruto asked with a small laugh evident in his voice.

"You'd do well to remember that they both had to learn the water walking exercise before attempting the Shunshin," Asuma chided his smug student. "You had a leg up on them in that regard."

The jonin neglected to mention that Naruto probably had double the inherent ninjutsu talent of both his teammates, plus the chakra to burn while training longer. There was no use inflating the boy's head though. It wasn't like it wasn't big enough already in some regards.

Honestly, the boy could be humble and calculating one moment, worried about his skill in regards to someone far out of his league, and be the most arrogant, hardheaded idiot the next. It was like he had a switch that he flipped at his leisure.

It was damn annoying for the jonin.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, sensei," Naruto said. "So, what are we gonna do about this?"

"We?" Asuma questioned.

"Yeah, we. Aren't we going to do something about this Gatou guy?"

"We are doing something, Naruto. We're guarding Tazuna," Asuma deadpanned.

"You know what I mean," Naruto grunted in frustration. His sensei could be so annoying at times.

Asuma just chuckled. "Calm down, Naruto, I know what you're talking about." The jonin frowned. "I wasn't planning on doing anything directly, but this attack means that Gatou's not afraid to use people besides Zabuza, and we don't' know who those people are."

Naruto nodded vigorously. "I agree, sensei. Do you think it would be a good idea to assault Gatou directly? He's our major adversary here, and with him dead, the mission is as good as done."

Asuma shook his head. "It's not a bad thought, but we've no idea how many men Gatou has on retainer. Some may even be shinobi, and the last thing we want is to charge headfirst into another trap."

It was logical, and Naruto accepted the point, though he wasn't happy about it. Preemptive striking made sense given their situation. They were stuck in hostile territory with no backup in sight, and with the looming threat of an A-ranked shinobi's imminent attack hanging over their heads.

It wasn't a good situation to be in, and Naruto felt horribly out of depth. He had never been made so aware of his limits before and he didn't like it.

"That said," Asuma began, "I wouldn't be against some reconnaissance."

"Me?" Naruto asked, slightly bewildered at being given a side mission.

Asuma shrugged. "It would have to be. Neither Kiba nor Ino have the stealth skills to manage it, and they have their training to complete anyway. I can't be too far from Tazuna in case Zabuza makes another appearance."

"So I'm expendable?" Naruto joked with a light laugh.

"You're available," Asuma countered. "And I should hope that you wouldn't have much of a problem sneaking past civilians."

Naruto leaned against the wall with a shrug. Civilians were easy pickings. He had been duping them for years now."What, exactly, would I be looking for?"

"Information about Gatou's company: logs, histories, what shinobi he's currently employing. Any information that might be sensitive." Asuma pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a snap of his lighter. "Other than that, location. Once we deal with this mess with Zabuza, I want to go after Gatou."

"I thought you didn't want to take him on directly?"

Asuma shook his head. "You misunderstood me. I don't want to walk into a trap with no information, and no idea what we might be up against. That, and Zabuza's still dangerous."

"Other than that, though…" Asuma frowned and narrowed his eyes. "…Gatou's been allowed to work unchecked for too long. He needs to be eliminated if Wave is ever going to recover."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and wrinkled his nose. "Is it a good idea to get so heavily involved? Outside the mission, Gatou's not our problem." He knew he was contradicting his earlier idea, but with preemptive assassination off the table, Gatou really wasn't Team Ten's problem.

Asuma looked at him sharply, and Naruto reflexively leaned back from the man's hostile gaze.

"You'd do well to think about more than just the mission and yourself, Naruto. While we're here, helping these people should be a priority. They've been subjected to untold cruelty from one man, and we have the power to stop it. It's practically common courtesy."

Naruto just nodded while he processed the information.

"You may be right, sensei, but I still feel uneasy about this whole thing." Naruto shook his head. "We sent for backup back in Fire Country, and that was weeks ago! I don't feel comfortable here knowing that we might not have any help on the way, and that we don't actually have to be here."

Asuma just sighed. The boy's point certainly had merit. Team Ten had no responsibility here other than the protection of Tazuna, and even that could be invalidated due to Tazuna's lying about the mission.

It didn't make it the right thing, however.

"Sometimes, Naruto, it's down to the people in the world who have power to use it justly; even if it means exposing themselves to danger," Asuma lectured. "In this case, the people with power are us. It may go against common shinobi thinking, but it is our responsibility to help those less fortunate than us, if given the opportunity." The jonin locked eyes with the boy. "It's a choice between what is right, and what is easy."

Naruto averted his eyes, Asuma's idealism making him uncomfortable.

He certainly felt sympathy for the people of Wave, but he couldn't help but think that Gatou simply wasn't his team's, and Konoha's, problem. Call him jaded, but Wave had just rolled over and died when Gatou strolled in, to the best of his knowledge, and Naruto couldn't stand that. They had made their own bed by doing nothing, and Naruto was perfectly content to let them sleep in it.

It was true that Gatou had crippled their economy, but how hard was it for a country, albeit a small one, to rise up and kill one man. Hell, they could have appealed to the Sandaime. Konoha had no real stake in Gatou's affairs, and he would have listened. The old man had enough pull with just about everyone important on the continent to get Gatou to leave Wave alone.

No one fucked with Konoha when they got involved in international affairs – Naruto snorted when he realized that he was having a "proud citizen of Konoha" moment – and especially in civilian matters. As long as it didn't directly hurt another of the Big Five, and sometimes even when it did, no one really bothered with it. They might make a bit of a stink, but they got out of the way eventually.

One emissary from the Daimyo to the Hokage and Gatou would have been out of Wave or dead, with his empire divided for Konoha's use.

But no, Wave had rolled over and died, letting one rich asshole completely dominate them. It's disgusting, Naruto thought.

In his own way, he was a go getter, a proactive person and a man of action. He had proved that through his training. Wave's attitude toward Gatou went against everything he stood for. Seeing a country of people so totally submit to one man's tyranny, especially when he wasn't a shinobi, was as disgusting to him as Inari's attitude toward his life.

People like that might as well be dead, in the blonde's esteemed opinion, though he would never share that view with anyone, let alone his sensei. Such an attitude was frowned upon in Konoha, despite being a shinobi village, and he was sure that it wouldn't help his standing with anyone there.

He honestly didn't know why he stuck around the village. The people hated him, he lived at the grace of the Sandaime, something that was sure to expire as soon as the old man, and he had been treated like shit until he had bothered to shut up and prove he had some skills. He was still treated like shit sometimes, though not as openly.

It was his home though, and it was only one he had at present. What a sad state of affairs.

"…suggest that you keep your investigations until night," Asuma spoke. "It never hurts to be careful, and I'd hate to lose my best student because he made a rookie mistake against a few samurai."

Naruto shook his head with a small chuckle, trying to dispel the tension in the room. "I thought you knew me better than that, sensei."

The jonin snorted. "Hmph. Maybe so, but things can from manageable to you being dead in an instant if someone like Zabuza detects you. You might be strong for a genin of your age, but Zabuza is way out of your league. If you come anywhere near him, get out immediately," he said, dead serious.

Naruto nodded once, sharply, at the order. There was never any question that he would get the hell out of any situation where Zabuza was involved. He knew his limits, and they were far from Zabuza's, even while the man was injured.

There was also that hunter-nin to worry about.

"Of course, sensei," he reassured the man. He would follow orders, even if he didn't like his situation here. There wasn't all that much he could do about it at present, so he would just do his part to make sure his team got out of this debacle in one piece.

"I'll be in touch," he said on his way out the door.

Asuma just gave him a small nod before turning to the window. He stared out over the water with a melancholic expression. He had a bad feeling.

/~/

The rain made for a steady beat on Naruto's kasa. It slid off in waves as the water steadily pounded to the ground.

He would have to remember to thank Tazuna for the traditional bamboo hat. It served the same purpose as a hooded cloak, while looking far less conspicuous. The kasa was commonly worn in these parts.

He still thought he looked stupid. So did his team, if the combined jeering from Ino and Kiba he got on his way past them was any indication.

He contented himself with the knowledge that it was a pragmatic choice of attire. At least it kept him dry.

The hat was the last thing on the blonde's mind as he wove through the streets of Wave Country's western most city. Maintaining a low profile in the streets was more difficult than he had originally thought.

He was used to the busy streets of Konoha, filled with people. The city's streets he currently walked were nearly empty, the general populace in their rickety shops, hoping for the occasional customer. He had graced a few with his patronage, and had been rewarded by gracious smiles and some damn good yakitori.

It had been almost as good as ramen.

The few smiles didn't make up for the vast majority of depressed people, and they certainly didn't stop him from planting his foot in the face of the dumbass who had tried to pickpocket him. He reminded himself that he was disguised here, and the man hadn't just been so retarded as to try to pickpocket a known shinobi. He just got unlucky with his mark.

It didn't help that the man was horrible at pick pocketing people. Naruto had more than a little experience in the fine art, and the man's technique had been horrendous. It had nearly offended the blonde's sensibilities.

In any event, the incident hadn't helped with his cover. News spread fast in the city, and most of the populace seemed to be giving him a wide berth. That was fine, though.

He wasn't trying to be overt in his intentions, but he was fine with a wide berth. It gave him more room to maneuver if it became necessary.

Having scrounged for necessities for much of his young life in Konoha, Naruto knew the advantages of both being in a crown and out of one.

He idly fingered the leather bound book in his pocket as he turned on to a side street. Lined with bars and cheap prostitutes on the street corner, it was the unofficial "Red Lights District" of the city, and one of the parts that Gatou had the most influence over. His thugs hung out here regularly.

That was perfect for Naruto.

He moved toward the most packed bar. It was only five in the evening, but the establishment was booming with noise. He stopped in front of the bouncer.

"Can I help you, kid?" the man asked, his hand drifting to his katana in what should serve as a threatening gesture. His partner wandered over to back him up.

Naruto wasn't impressed.

"Yes, actually," he began pleasantly. His blue eyes bored into the man's as he stepped closer. "I was wondering if you could-"

He cut off as he stepped on the man's foot, hard. The bounder screamed as his toes were crushed, and Naruto's used his distraction to lay one in his gut. A single chop to the neck was likely overkill, but one could never be too careful.

The second bouncer had his wits about him in a moment, and slashed out at Naruto with his katana. Naruto avoided the swipe casually, and used the outside of his right arm to push the blade away from him.

Two quick steps put him inside the man's guard, and a strong uppercut laid the second bouncer out.

"Hey!" was the call from the bar as people began to notice what was happening. Naruto ignored them in favor of looping two sets of arms over his shoulder and disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

He left a wink for the customers who had moved toward him when he knocked out the guards. The group was stunned.

He reappeared with his luggage on top of the highest building in the city.

His target for the day was an archer. He wasn't about to give him a good shot if the man came looking for him.

Naruto dropped the bouncers to the ground unceremoniously, and surveyed the city as the two men groaned in pain.

The view really was quite nice from up here. The sea and the sunset made for a majestic sight.

"So," Naruto began after he was pretty sure the men had regained some semblance of coherency. "How long have you two been working here?" he asked pleasantly. He wasn't quite sure how to start something like this, it was his first interrogation, but giving the men some time to give up information willingly might be a good idea.

It would also assuage his conscience later if he had to resort to some more…extreme methods.

The men just groaned some more. Naruto turned to regard his prisoners, and raised an eyebrow at the baleful look one man sent him. The other was looking at him in fear.

"The sooner you cooperate, the sooner this is all over," Naruto said, his voice now flat. He wasn't screwing around here. He needed information from these guys, and he would get it.

Being stationed at the entrance to one of the most popular bars frequented by Gatou's men, these men learned a lot about the organization simply by standing around and listening. They could probably identify a large number of Gatou's thugs and associates just from sight alone. That didn't even begin to cover what they likely overheard on a daily basis.

"I'm not gonna tell you shit, kid," the first man grunted as he stood up. Naruto hadn't bothered to bind either of them. The bouncer reached behind him in what was supposed to be a subtle gesture, and Naruto smirked as the man's face went slack.

"I'm a trained shinobi, sir. You're going to talk to me one way or the other." The blond gave a feral grin as he brandished the formerly hidden knife he had lifted from the bouncer. "Your cooperation will just make it go faster."

He could see the man thinking about it. Not having a weapon on him had taken the man out of his comfort zone. He had no idea what he was dealing with. For all the bouncer knew, Naruto could have been a trained interrogator.

A quick flick of Naruto's fingers and the blade was buried handle deep in the second bouncer's right shoulder. The screams were oddly satisfying as the man dropped to the floor.

His partner's eyes kept flickering back and forth between Naruto and himself, unsure of what to do.

"That's just a taste of what might happen if you don't spill." Naruto walked over to the kneeling man and unceremoniously yanked the knife back out. He was inwardly surprised that the blade had penetrated that deep. It wasn't very sharp.

"If you do, however, that won't need to happen again," he continued over the howls. He contained his sneer for the man's reaction by reminding himself that this man wasn't a trained shinobi. Hell, he wasn't a trained anything.

Naruto casually moved back to the building's edge, surveying the sea with an appraising eye. It really was quite the sight for a person not accustomed to its majestic beauty. He'd have to make a trip back at some point.

"So, what can you tell me about Gatou's men?" Naruto asked, his pleasant demeanor making a comeback despite the howls of pain.

The uninjured bouncer – relatively speaking – continued to look apprehensive, his eyes settling on his screaming partner in shock. Naruto sighed; he wasn't cut out for this sort of stuff. He'd do what was necessary, though.

A deft flick of the fingers sent the knife sailing into the injured man's other arm, and the screams doubled in intensity.

The second bouncer's attention snapped to Naruto, his eyes wide with fear.

"I'm not dicking around up here. Tell me what I want to know, and nothing's gonna happen to you," he delivered in his best menacing voice. "If not-" he gestured to the screaming man. "-I'll start on you."

The man squealed like a pig, and Naruto did his best to contain his satisfaction amidst the slowly dying screams of pain.

/~/

"Kawasaki Gendo," Naruto began, pointing to a picture of a young man posted up on the wall. "Nineteen years old, genin. Former Ame-nin, and classified as a D-ranked nuke-nin. No special abilities of note."

"He's an archer, though," Asuma clarified from his position against the wall. He absently puffed on a cigarette.

"Yes, and a crafty one if his trick with the explosive tag is any example."

Team Ten had transformed the attic, small though it was, of Tazuna's house into a form of situation room. Naruto had his information that he retrieved from the two bouncers posted up on the walls. Various arrows and lines connected names to the few faces that they had access to.

The two bouncers had been a veritable gold mine of information regarding Gatou's network of enforcers. Everything from names, likely hang out spots, to where many of them lived and collected their pay was almost common knowledge to the two men.

It was amazing what someone could learn in a bar.

Among the most valuable of the information gleaned from the two bouncers were the identities of the few people who made the most on Gatou's payroll. Aside from Zabuza, of course, who remained an elusive figure to the average thugs.

Thanks to Asuma's super handy Bingo Book, they were able to match all four men to faces of missing-nin. None were over C-ranked, and the team had already dealt with two of them. The Demon Brothers.

That left Kawasaki Gendo, the Ame archer who had taken a pot shot at Tazuna when Naruto had been on duty, and Funeno Futaba, a C-ranked Iwa nuke-nin accused of the murder of his own comrades.

"That's great and all, but why exactly are we dealing with this?" Kiba asked in a whine. He had just completed the Shunshin earlier in the day, and, instead of getting some quality time to play with Akamaru, he had to sit through some briefing that he had no idea about. On top of that, Naruto apparently had had some super secret mission that he hadn't known about.

Now that just wasn't fair.

Naruto sighed and made to explain the situation, one that Asuma had just barely glanced over, preferring to leave it to him, but was cut off by Ino.

"Baka!" she snarled, cuffing Kiba on the head. "Asuma-sensei and Naruto-kun are getting to that."

"Kami, keep your hands to yourself you degenerate harpy! I was just asking a question!"

Ino glared viciously at Kiba for his comment, but refrained from further hitting after a meaningful glance from Asuma.

"Thanks, Ino, but that wasn't really necessary," Naruto started. Despite his amusement and exasperation with the situation, there was no need for Kiba to get hit over it. "Anyway, Kawasaki here, along with Funeno, serve as two of Gatou's top enforcers. They're also the only other shinobi he has on his payroll, aside from Zabuza and that Hunter-nin guy."

"The idea," Asuma took over for the blond, "is to mount an operation to flush out and eliminate the two. We don't need them interfering in any future confrontation that we might have with Zabuza."

"While we're at it, why don't we go for the kill on Zabuza too?" Ino asked, perplexed. "If we're looking for some preemptive striking, why not hit the big guy?"

Asuma took a drag from his cigarette. "As I've already explained to Naruto, Zabuza is far too dangerous at present to mount a full assault against without knowing exactly what we're getting in to. He's already proved that he can pretty much go toe to toe with me, and he'll have backup this time."

"I couldn't get any info on his whereabouts anyway," Naruto grumbled. He wasn't pleased with not being able to get any information on the Kirigakure no Kijin. "No one around here really knows about him."

"So, what, we just make up an attack plan for these two guys?" Kiba asked.

"Yep," was Asuma's answer.

"And you won't be helping us?" Ino questioned dubiously.

"Nope."

"So," Naruto began, "Instead of dealing with two nuke-nin who would be child's play to you, you're having us do it."

"That about covers it."

"Why?" That was Ino.

Asuma took a seat in a nearby chair with a sigh. "There's going to be a time when you three will be promoted to chunin and will be taking your own missions. Given your skills and potential, I have reason to believe that that time is sooner, rather than later. That means that you three have to be prepared to deal with threats like these two men."

"When that happens, I won't be around to be there as a safety net in case something goes pear shaped. You'll be leading your own missions with your own teams, and you'll be responsible for them." Asuma took one final drag before chucking the cigarette out the open window. "Experience with the unknown isn't something many talented genin get to face, but it's necessary for their futures. Putting you three in a situation like this, with enemies who aren't particularly strong and with me as an indirect supervisor, simulates a situation that you'll likely be in for the rest of your lives."

The three genin exchanged looks, each conveying their understanding of what their sensei was doing. It would help them down the road, but it didn't mean they had to enjoy putting their lives on the line.

"It's best to get it out of the way now, rather than wait for the mission to really mean something down the road, and you to be inexperienced," Asuma finished seriously.

"I think…we understand, sensei," Kiba ventured.

"The difference between knowledge and wisdom is experience," Naruto quoted from an old ninja code.

As knowledgeable and well prepared as they were, Asuma was right in saying that they were inexperienced in terms of being actual ninja. That type of experience could be the difference in a fight or mission down the road. Without experience, they wouldn't be able to anticipate or react properly to threats that may reveal themselves, no matter how well trained they might be.

"Very good, Naruto," Asuma commended. "That quote is something to keep in mind for the rest of your shinobi careers."

Kiba got back into the thick of the planning. "You said you would be an indirect supervisor?" he asked.

"You'll have a Kage Bunshin of mine watching over you in case something goes south. If anything happens, it should be able to buy you the time needed to escape, if not outright kill the target. Otherwise, I need to be at the bridge with Tazuna-san."

Kiba nodded and Akamaru yipped.

"Well, I'll leave the planning to you three," Asuma said as he made his way out of the room. "Just be sure to run it by me before you guys start."

"Yes, sensei," the three genin chorused.

The door shut behind him with a click.

"You think he's just being lazy with having us do all the work for this one?" Ino asked her male teammates.

Naruto and Kiba exchanged smirks. "Definitely."

"Lazy bastard. It was a good speech though."

"Yeah, yeah, Ino," Kiba waved her off. "How're we gonna handle this one? I don't know about you guys, but me and Akamaru have been itching for some real action!"

Ino smirked in agreement while Naruto gave a soft smile and a laugh. "I've had about enough action for one mission."

"Bah! Don't be such a pansy, Naruto!" Ino argued. "And what's this about some super secret recon mission that we weren't included in?" she asked rather menacingly. Kiba growled in agreement.

Naruto palmed his forehead. He knew that they were going to give him hell for that. "It was just a little information gathering. Nothing serious. It was pretty boring actually."

"As if, Naruto!" Kiba snarled. "Tazuna said there were rumors of two of Gatou's thugs getting stuck up on some roof in the city and having the crap beaten out of them. Anything to do with that?"

Naruto just shook his head and shrugged. "Maybe. Can we just focus on the mission here?" he asked desperately.

Kiba 'hmph'd', but the severe expression on his face melted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just bring us along next time."

"Might I remind you that you were training?" Naruto asked smarmily. "I was under the impression you were still struggling with the Shunshin."

Ino interrupted the squabble as Kiba made to retort. "Hey idiots, we have a mission to plan! We can deal with Naruto's side projects later." She sent a vicious smirk at Naruto, who now looked a little apprehensive as well as incredulous at the change of attitude. He didn't want to be on Ino's bad side.

He regained his composure quickly. "Absolutely, Ino-taichou!" he snapped a mocking salute that she couldn't help but laugh at.

"So," she began after her giggles died down. "Let's get down to business. You said these two meet up sometimes?"

Naruto nodded and Ino's eyes gleamed.

"Is that so…" she trailed off with a smirk.

Naruto and Kiba couldn't help but grin back as Ino described her plan.

/~/

The boy removed his kasa as he stepped inside the high end apartment complex. The city on the western edge of Wave Country had once been quite prosperous. The complex Naruto had just entered was a remnant of Wave's brighter days.

The days before Gatou put a vice grip on the country's economy.

Crisp, air conditioned air met Naruto's face, and the boy idly traced the places where his whisker marks usually stood out. It was lucky that Ino still carried a small makeup kit with her on missions.

Girls will be girls, Naruto thought fondly as he passed the pretty receptionist and tossed her his best "charming" smile. He wouldn't need her help to find the rooms he was looking for, but making a good impression was never a bad idea.

The blond Yamanaka had left her Academy misconceptions behind, for the most part, but she still wanted to be able to look pretty if the occasion called for it. Naruto thought that she looked plenty pretty enough even without makeup, though he would never admit it to his fellow blond.

It would only serve to increase the girl's already unbearable teasing. That was something that Naruto could definitely do without.

"Hold that, please," he called to a girl who had just entered the elevator. A plain looking brunette smiled at him as he darted inside the doors as they closed. "Thanks."

"No problem," she said. She seemed nice enough for Naruto's tastes. It was a far cry from the treatment he received back home.

Not for the first time did the blond boy think about what life might be like outside of Konoha. It certainly had its appeals. The general treatment was only one part.

"I've been going up and down all day," the girl said, making small talk.

"Really?" Naruto asked, trying to sound interested. Live the role, he reminded himself. "What for?"

"Oh, I run errands for a few of the tenants here."

Naruto shrugged slightly. "Sounds…well, I don't want to say boring…"

The brunette giggled appreciatively. "No, no, it is! Some of the tenants have the most mundane errands that need running. One of them constantly needs his clothes cleaned."

Naruto chuckled, appreciating the small blush that moved up on the girl's cheeks as he brushed against her slightly. No one had ever accused him of being ugly.

"I can only imagine why."

The girl shrugged slightly. "Oh, I don't know, but half of the time I think the man just needs his things dried. They're always soaked. I mean, I know we're next to the sea, but the amount of water he gets into his clothes is just ridiculous. You'd think he played with water all day!"

"Maybe he's a fisherman," Naruto suggested as the girl stepped out of the elevator. They were going to the same floor.

"No, I don't think so," the brunette argued. "Most fishermen aren't paid nearly enough to rent one of these apartments. That and he's out at odd hours. I don't even want to think about all the times I've been called at my parent's house to pick something up from the docks for him."

"Maybe he works for the shipping company that's based out of here, Gatou Corporation?" Naruto inquired politely.

The girl nodded, almost melancholically as she strolled down the hallway, Naruto in tow. "I think so. A lot of the tenants in the building do. I'm not quite sure what they do though. The apartments cost too much for regular shipping hands, but some of the men are so big that I can't think of anything else they could do."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully as the duo stopped outside one of the rooms. The girl knocked three times.

The door was answered by a youngish looking man dressed in a loose t-shirt and black pants. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the hand hidden behind the man's back. It almost certainly held a knife.

"Ah, Ami," he addressed the brunette. "You're here for the laundry?"

"Of course Kawasaki-sama. It's the usual pick-up time, isn't it?"

The man looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes lit up in remembrance. "Ah, so it is. I see you've brought a friend to help you." He gestured to Naruto.

"How do you do, Kawasaki-sama? My name is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto introduced himself.

"Uzumaki…that name sounds familiar. I wonder," the man trailed off in thought.

"Gendo!" a coarse voice yelled from inside the apartment. "What's keeping you? We have business to discuss."

"I'll just be a minute!" Gendo called back. "Now, where were we?"

"The laundry, Kawasaki-sama?" Ami prompted.

"Yes! That," he turned to enter the apartment, no doubt to gather his laundry.

Naruto moved to step in behind him, but Ami blocked his way, and he ended up pushing the girl into the retreating man.

Metal flashed briefly in the light of the room before it was concealed once more.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kawasaki-sama!" the girl apologized as Gendo's body hit the floor.

Naruto felt a brief surge of satisfaction before the body burst into water. He cursed explosively as the floor was soaked and his reflexes kicked in to high gear.

"Move!" he commanded the girl in front of him as he pushed her further into the apartment. It wasn't a moment too soon as the space they had occupied a moment before was peppered with shuriken.

"Motherfucker!" Ino cursed as she dropped her cloaking genjutsu, her impersonation of the local girl finished, and dove behind a nearby bookcase; the brunette was no longer in existence, having been replaced by Ino in full combat gear, tanto in hand.

Naruto rolled right the second he had secured Ino, and brought twin kunai up to block an overhead slash of a blunted tanto. The boy locked eyes with Team Ten's second target for the day: Funeno Futaba.

"Contact Kiba!" Naruto shouted back to his teammate. The dog ninja had to know that Kawasaki was making a run for it.

In his haste to order his teammate, Naruto ignored his quarry, and the former Iwa ninja used his free hand to land a solid cross punch on Naruto's face. The blond boy was sent spiraling into the glass window looking out at an adjacent building.

The reflection of his target made to stab Naruto, and the boy dove to the left, watching as the blunted blade broke through the glass with ease. He was glad he moved.

Shifting into a defensive stance, Naruto readied his twin kunai. The Iwa nuke-nin came high with his slash, and Naruto blocked with his left kunai. His arm shook from the weight of the blow, but he endured, striking out with his right blade.

The knife was halted by the man's hand, and the ninja made to throw Naruto.

The blond avoided the inevitable by stepping inside the man's guard, throwing off his sense of balance, and kneeing the larger man in the gut brutally. The blow succeeded in knocking the wind out of the man, and he stumbled backwards.

Naruto made to end the fight then and there, but was halted by a hastily thrown kunai at point blank range. Only his reflexes saved his head, and Naruto grimaced as the blade dug into his left shoulder painfully.

Where the fuck is Ino? he screamed mentally.

The lapse allowed for the nuke-nin to regain his bearings, and he struck out with an open palm to Ino's neck.

The genin stumbled back in pain, and was powerless to stop the follow up thrust kick to his stomach that sent him crashing into a wall.

Futaba grabbed his tanto to deliver the coup de grace, but was forced to abort the strike as Ino reasserted herself in the fight. About damn time, Naruto groused internally as he regained his bearings.

A quick stab to the man's right shoulder had him screaming in pain, but Ino couldn't do much more as she was brutally slammed into a glass table via two elbows to the face and a thrust kick when the man didn't bother to turn around to face her.

The interruption had allowed Naruto to reclaim his breath, however, and he kicked out from his prone position. The kick knocked the man to the floor, and gave Naruto the time to quickly stand, flipping himself to his feet from his hands.

It wasn't a moment too soon as he leapt over a sweep of his legs and engaged the man in a hasty taijutsu exchange.

Naruto's taijutsu was probably better than the man's, but the difference in strength and the confined space limited Naruto's ability to land decent blow on the Iwa nuke-nin, and he soon had his arm caught in a grapple.

The man used his superior strength to grab Naruto by the collar and slam him into a glass cabinet before pushing him back into the wall.

Naruto grunted as glass shards penetrated his skin, and braced himself with his arms as he hit a doorframe. He grabbed hold like it was a lifeline, and sent a low thrust kick at the man's left knee. It connected solidly, and Naruto regained the initiative as he swept the nuke-nin's legs as the man struck out with a desperate punch. It succeeded in distracting Naruto for one precious second.

Futaba recovered quickly, and landed a heavy kick to Naruto's stomach that had the boy hunched over in pain. An elbow to the back of the head sent the blond boy to the ground.

Naruto rolled out of the way of the man's attempt to stomp on him, and grabbed a thick book from nearby. It wasn't a moment too soon, as the man had picked up a discarded metal table leg and swung it toward Naruto's head.

The book absorbed the first blow, and Naruto rolled right to avoid the second as he kicked at Futaba's legs. The kick pushed the man back enough for Naruto to stand, and the boy sent a wicked cross punch across the man's face before he slammed the book into the man's foot.

"Argh!" the man bit out as the heavy tome nearly broke his foot.

Naruto pressed his advantage by thrusting the tome into the man's neck and pushing him back into a glass cabinet. He snarled in satisfaction as the man was forced to drop the table leg.

Naruto slammed his hand into the book, pushing it harder against the nuke-nin's neck, before rotating it and using it to deliver a vicious blow to the man's face.

Two solid haymakers sent the man stumbling to the wall, where Naruto pinned him by the neck. The boy ducked swiftly to avoid a desperate punch to the face, and caught his opponent in the stomach with a powerful uppercut.

Naruto used all his body weight to spin the man round and throw him to the floor of the apartment, but found himself airborne when the man kicked out with both legs and caught him in the chest.

The nuke-nin flipped to his feet deftly and picked up his old table leg before he stumbled, once, glancing down at a blade sticking out of him in shock. He fell to his knees with a look of shock etched on his face, blood pouring from a gaping wound in his neck.

Ino withdrew her tanto from the man's neck, breathing heavily and looking panicked. Blood spurted from the wound and the blond girl stumbled backwards as she took in the sight of her kill. The tanto fell to the ground with a sharp clang.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Naruto grumbled as he gingerly rose to his feet, having already brushed off the man's rather gruesome death. It was him or them. He clutched his chest in pain as he surveyed the damage done to the apartment. His eyes found Ino's shocked sea foam green orbs staring down at the dead man.

"Hey," he said gently as he approached the girl. "You alright?" He laid his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

The touch seemed to break the girl from whatever stupor she was in, and she locked eyes with Naruto. "Y-yeah. Just shaken up a bit."

Naruto nodded. "Didn't quite go as planned, but it worked out in the end." His eyes found the bleeding body on the floor and he grimaced. He would no doubt have the image etched into his memory. The only thing keeping him from collapsing right now was the leftover adrenaline from the fight.

He had no doubt that he would be freaking out right now if it were under normal circumstances. He had made kills before, even on this mission, but he still wasn't used to the idea. It didn't matter that he hadn't been the one to actually make the kill this time; the whole experience was shocking enough.

Ino leaned against him gingerly as her breathing stabilized. "Yeah, it did," she breathed. She was still staring at the cooling corpse in a muted sort of shock. "What happened to the other guy?"

"Kiba should have gotten him if he left the building." Naruto pressed a finger to his ear, where his radio was. "Kiba, what's your status?"

The sound of crackling came over the com link. "S'all good Naruto! Me and Akamaru got him," Kiba boasted.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the tension rapidly left his body. "Good to hear. Where are you guys?"

"Just across the street from you guys. We chased the fucker to the roof top before we got the drop on him."

Naruto glanced out the shattered window to see a dark form waving at him from atop the closest building. "He still alive?"

"Yeah," came the dog ninja's reply. Akamaru yipped in the background.

"Good. Bag him and tag him. We'll let Asuma talk to him when we get back."

"Copy that. You guys all right over there?" Kiba questioned, concern marring his voice.

Naruto sighed and glanced about the ruined apartment. He was more than a little surprised to find that Ino had somehow made her way into his arms in a comforting hug. "Yeah, we're fine. We'll meet you back at Tazuna's."

"See you guys there."

Naruto glanced at the girl in his arms with confusion and a little trepidation. He wasn't used to such contact, and it made him a little nervous. He didn't particularly feel like pulling away though.

"Ino?"

"Yeah?" came the muffled reply. Her face was buried in his shoulder.

"You sure you're all right?"

She picked her head out of its resting place and locked eyes with him for a moment. She looked away just as quickly. "Yeah, it's just that…it happened so fast. I couldn't do anything and you were getting hurt and-"

"Ino," Naruto shushed her. "It's all right. I'm fine. We got the job done."

She slapped him on the chest. "Idiot, I don't care about the mission! You almost died!"

Naruto sighed heavily, realizing just how close to death he had come in the fight. He had a long way to go if he wanted to go toe to toe with S-ranked monsters.

"Maybe, but you bailed me out when it mattered. That's all that matters now," he comforted somewhat uneasily. He wasn't used to doing this at all.

The blond girl just buried her head back in his shoulder and squeezed him.

Naruto smiled gently as his heart fluttered at the notion that Ino actually cared about him. Their teasing was all in good fun, but realizing that he had people that genuinely cared about him made him happier than he had been in a long time.

It only helped that it was Ino, of all people.

"Hold on," he said gently as he channeled chakra. The girl gripped him even tighter as he made a single hand seal and let the Shunshin carry them.

/~/