Tazuna Household

The group of Kaito was gathered in a small hut that had a windmill attached to a silo nearby. Inside the hut, Kakashi was lying on a futon and recuperating.

"Are you alright like this, Sensei?", asked a middle-aged woman with black long hair that had a tinge towards the dark blue in color.

"It's alright. If I rest and keep it low for about a week I should be fine and back in no time. I am just exhausted from using my Sharingan too much.", answered Kakashi back.

Sakura that was squatting beside him looked at him with a frown. "If that eye is putting so much stress on the body, why even use it? It's incredible but is it really worth it? We had to drag you all the way here because you just slumped over at some point."

"Kid, we should be safe for a while since the injury you dealt to the other strong ninja was by no means less than what he got.", chimed Tazuna as a comment.

"That is only if that Haku is not able to heal him up.", said Kaito now. "By my guess, he should be able to patch him up. But sure enough, we did get some breathing time. And who knows, maybe we won't even see them again." Even though he added those words he was not so certain about that.

"Right, Sensei. What was with that masked kid anyway?", asked Sakura now after coming to that topic.

"That's the mask worn by the hidden mist special hunter-nin team. Every village has those. They are also known as body erasers. Their duty is to completely dispose of the bodies without a trace. Depending on the rank of the ninja or his training he could have secrets about the village on him. May it be sealing arts, weapons, or Kekkei Genkai like my Sharingan.", told Kakashi.

"If for example, I died then my Sharingan could be transplanted into someone else and that person could use it. So by killing and disposing of missing-nin that have abandoned their village, the hunter-nin protect valuable information from getting out. That is the fate of those ninjas and even ours. No sound, no smell...Nothing remains of us after death..."

Kaito heard his words and had to frown. 'I don't think that is correct to describe it like that. No matter how thorough one is, there will always be something left. The Impure Reincarnation would otherwise not be a problem...'

"So if he dies he gets chopped up? That is a weird thing to think about.", commented Sakura now with a gloomy face.

"Well, anyway." Kakashi pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked at his team. "Looks like I will have to ramp up your training just in case. We still have things to worry about that does not include Zabuza."

"Yeah, that Gatou guy!", grinned Naruto. "We gotta protect Tazuna until he finishes the bridge."

"What? But what will a little bit of training do for us? Our enemy is a ninja that even you struggled against!", said Sakura now.

"Kakashi-sensei had to keep us safe, Sakura. That is especially why we need to train up. We can't rely on him always keeping an eye out on us forever.", interrupted Kaito her.

Sakura looked over at him and thought about it. "You mean we should at least be able to take care that masked kid?"

"Bingo, you got it!", smirked Kaito now. "And I think a few thugs from Gatou won't be a problem for us. That mafia dude could afford someone more powerful but it is unlikely. Zabuza did mention being one of the seven Kiri swordsmen. As far as I know, they are Jounin that are especially gifted in Kenjutsu and that probably put a large hole in his pocket for sure. As you should remember, this mission is already on the difficulty of A to S rank now. Buying a ninja to perform an A or S rank is already highly expensive..."

Kaito looked at Tazuna at that moment who had a rather apologizing gaze at him hearing his words. "Now imagine buying a missing-nin on that level. He should probably be at least 5 times that amount.", added Kaito and ended his speech.

"That much money!?", exclaimed Naruto. he knew about the amount of money a ninja received for what mission rank. "We could afford a lifetime of ramen for that!"

"That is what you think about?", asked Sakura with a deadpan look.

"It means he won't be able to purchase outer assistance as quickly right now and we gained time.", confirmed Sasuke.

Kakashi nodded. "Aso, I did follow your performance and you did pretty well. You all have improved and the experience from such a difficult fight did gain you some insight."

"Heh, next time I will smack that guys mask from his face for sure! Training will be a lot of fun!", proclaimed Naruto. "I will show him that coming back will be a mistake."

"That is not fun.", said a small voice from the side now and everyone looked over to a small boy with a fishing tophat.

"Who are you?", asked Naruto.

"Hahaha! Inari! Where were you!? Come here.", shouted Tazuna now cheerfully.

"Welcome back, grandpa.", answered the kid and walked over to Tazuna that hugged him and seemed to pamper him a little.

"Inari, say hello to these people. They are ninjas who are here to protect grandpa.", ordered Tsunami at her son.

The kid stared at them and them and then started talking. "Mom, these guys are just going to die. So it's no use greeting dead people..."

"What the!? What did you say, you little brat!?", shouted Naruto back now.

The kid stayed calm. "There is no way you will win against Gatou."

Naruto only cliqued his tongue in annoyance. "Kid, that Gatou guy is nothing against me! I'm a superhero that will one day become an incredible ninja called the Hokage!!"

"There goes his delusion again.", deadpanned Sasuke.

Kaito could only chuckle wryly. "Now it is a superhero? Are you trying to act cool in front of the kid?"

Hearing the sharp words from his teammates jolted Naruto and he looked back at Sasuke and his brother with a slightly reddened face. "Why are you backstabbing me here!?"

"Hmpf, what are you, stupid? There's no such thing as a hero! You will only die. So you should just leave.", growled the kid now.

"What? You little!" naruto wanted to slap this kids ass for being so bratty but sakura stopped him.

Kaito smirked at that and shrugged his shoulders. Then he looked at the kid. "Hey, Inari was it? Heroes are not immortal, that is for sure. But should you talk about them like that?"

That question got an immense glare from the kid concentrated on him. Everyone in the room noticed it and stayed silent. Then the kid walked out of the room.

"Where are you going, Inari?", asked Tazuna.

"To look at the ocean from my room..." Not much was said when he shut the door behind him.

"Sorry about that...", apologized Tazuna for his behavior.

Naruto later followed and checked up on the kid only to come back with a solemn face.