บท 211: Chapter Eleven: A New Team
Shinku Akuma no Iwa: Arc Two: Genin Blitz
"Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama is here to see you."
"Send him in." Replied an old voice to the woman's announcement. Sarutobi sighed and placed his pen down as the man walked in, covered mostly in bandages save for a single eye and using a cane to walk was Shimura Danzo. Once rival and friend to Sarutobi Hiruzen, when Sarutobi was chosen as Sandaime Hokage instead of Danzo it left the man bitter and angry to the point that their friendship had all but vanished, instead being replaced by a fierce battle of wits and political arguments of which neither was sure was the original aggressor and yet neither cared. While Sarutobi followed the ideals of his two predecessors and teachers, the Shodai and Niidaime, Danzo opposed them. The conflict was as simple as it was endless. Peaceful negotiation with force as a last resort versus using force to ensure safety and power. Both had their ups and downs which led to their arguments as both believed their way had the better perks and more acceptable costs.
The worst argument between them though had come just twelve years ago, directly after the Kyuubi attack. Sarutobi had sent the newly born child who had become the newest jinchuriki to the biju away from the village. Danzo saw this as both an insult and the biggest risk to Konoha's security Sarutobi could make without simply opening their gates and telling their enemies to destroy them outright. Without a well-trained jinchuriki in their forces, how could Konoha defend itself against the jinchuriki of other villages? While Danzo had wanted the boy to be under his direct control, even he knew that keeping the boy in the village to be a normal shinobi was a better option than sending him away. And yet Sarutobi had made the worst possible decision for Konoha and Danzo had laid into him for it. To the point that even the old Hokage himself regretted the decision and agreed to have him brought back to Konoha. But it was already too late as the child was missing and had never even made it to where he was supposed to be sent. Danzo capitalized on Sarutobi's weakness to discreetly push through a few motions for his Root program that otherwise would've been shot down while making sure to have a few of his teams on permanent search detail for the child. If he had fallen into the hands of Konoha's enemies then he knew the village's destruction was almost a guarantee.
"What can I help you with today Danzo?" The aged Kage asked with a strict voice. Danzo kept his face emotionless as he came up and took a seat before the man's desk.
"The new genin have just graduated, have they not?" Danzo asked rhetorically. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes but said nothing as he wanted to see what his former friend wanted first. "What is to be done with the last Uchiha?"
"He will be placed in a team like the rest and then placed under Hatake Kakashi's care as he is the only one left in the village that could teach him the secrets of the Sharingan." Sarutobi explained. "The only problem is deciding who to place as his teammates as there were a lot of prominent clan heirs in this class, as you know, and their parents are making suggestions for their team placements." Danzo nodded his head slightly as he knew that himself. Although he could technically argue against Kakashi being the only Sharingan user left in the village, he wouldn't do it as nobody knew of his implants and revealing them was not worth the trouble it would cause compared to the gains.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this class one graduate short of making enough full three genin cells?"
"You're not wrong. What's your point?" The Kage had narrowed his eyes at this point as this was where Danzo would make his move and reveal his demand.
"I'm offering one of my men to stand in as a genin to be placed on the Uchiha's team. As the last of his clan it will be up to him to rebuild it for Konoha. As such he must be protected and trained extensively. While I'm sure Hatake can achieve both objectives splendidly, he must divide his attention between three students. As such, I'm offering one of my men to stand in as a genin. You may let Hatake know this so that he can instead focus on the other two while my agent aids in keeping the Uchiha safe while Hatake trains him in his bloodline and other areas." Danzo's proposal actually had no true bad side to it. At least at first glance. Sarutobi on the other hand knew better.
"I specifically remember Itachi telling both of us that Sasuke is to be left alone in the regards your thinking or else our village's secrets will be revealed." While the threat was more towards Danzo than Sarutobi, the old Kage had said both simply to avoid Danzo trying to counter-argue him.
"I know what you're getting at and I will be leaving him alone. My agent would be there just as extra protection to ensure his safety. I've read the psych profiles on the boy and can tell you that only the most extreme conditioning could change him. I'm not inclined to waste those resources even if he is the last of his clan." Danzo admitted. This casual jab at Root without actually revealing it irritated Sarutobi as he knew he couldn't use it to shut his program down but the Kage held his tongue and pulled out the file with the graduates information papers on them. Honestly, Danzo was actually right in this instance in that Sasuke was going to require extremes to change his thought process. While the boy seemed loyal to Konoha and would obey orders from his superiors, he also showed arrogance to the highest level due to civilians spoiling him in the hopes of getting at his clan treasures. He also had an attitude problem and refused to work with anyone unless absolutely necessary. Honestly if it wasn't for the fact he was the most skilled student since his brother the Hokage wouldn't have authorized his passing. In fact he was still tempted to deny it and place him on the reserves under observation until his attitude improved. However since the Kyuubi attack, Konoha needed soldiers out in the field.
"Bring this agent here so that I may evaluate him and decide whether or not to accept your proposal." Sarutobi sighed out. Perhaps he could have Kakashi keep an eye on this 'genin' and maybe the Hokage could use him as a gateway to exposing and subsequently shutting down Root. Not likely but possible. And if not then at least Sasuke would have a bit more protection so that he could eventually rebuild his clan for the village.
"So do you hope we're on a team Sasuke-kun?" A girl with pink hair asked as she sat next to a boy with dark hair and a blue shirt with white shorts. On the back of his shirt was a fan where the top half was red while the bottom was white, the clan symbol of the Uchiha clan. The boy, Uchiha Sasuke, was ignoring the girl in a red and white one piece with dark blue spandex shorts as she continued talking and trying to get a date or something out of him. He had no idea why Haruno Sakura or any of the other girls in his class seemed to love him and follow him around since he had never paid them any attention and had once actually degraded and spoke down on them for being disgraces to kunoichi as they never bothered with training and while that got one or two to stop chasing him the rest whined that he didn't mean it and continued as if nothing had happened. It irritated Sasuke to no end but he knew that he'd get in trouble for attacking them so he just went back to ignoring them in the hopes they'd leave him alone. Which was not the case.
He sat in the front next to a window with Sakura chatting in the seat next to him as he and the other graduates waited for their sensei to come in and tell them what was going to happen next since they had completed the genin exam and were now shinobi of the village. Nearby were the other clan heirs that had passed and honestly he only had mild respect for them since they (somewhat) took their training seriously.
There was Inuzuka Kiba with his small dog Akamaru. Kiba wore a baggy hooded gray jacket most of the time while Akamaru was white with brown ears. Sasuke would silently admit the guy was good in taijutsu, being the only one to give him a good fight, but outside of that and his clan specialty of tracking, Kiba was somewhat slow which led to poor grades. Not dead last poor but not top ten either, just average in the intelligence portion of their career choice while excelling near the top in the physical side of it.
Next to him was Aburame Shino wearing his usual high collared gray jacket and sunglasses. Shino was strange in that he almost never spoke and he never seemed to show emotion. Sasuke knew from his brother and father when they were around that the Aburame used insects in their jutsu to track and drain an enemy's chakra. Not frontline fighters of any sort but very skilled support units in Konoha's forces. Sasuke respected Shino because he took being a shinobi very seriously and always did what appeared to be his best, though he had a feeling the boy might've been hiding a few things, as such Shino was the fifth in the class though Sasuke was sure that if his hunch was right and Shino was hiding things then he'd have an actual rival for the top spot.
Farther back sitting next to one another were Nara Shikamaru and Akamichi Choji. Shikamaru was wearing his regular short sleeved jacket and had his hair in its normal pineapple ponytail style as he slept at his seat, like always, while Choji had a shirt with the kanji for food on it and was snacking on chips, again like always. While Shikamaru was technically the smartest in the class, he was so lazy he never showed it. Sasuke knew his clan could manipulate shadows for various things and were renowned geniuses but he had trouble seeing it with how lazy the boy was. Choji on the other hand was the only student physically stronger than him but that was it. He was slow and too much of a pacifist to truly be a threat in his mind. The Akamichi could manipulate their body size through some secret clan jutsu for various attacks but other than that Sasuke didn't see any usefulness in the clan of 'big-boned' ninja.
A couple seats behind him was Hyuga Hinata, the dead last of the class. She was wearing her usual beige jacket and had her dark blue hair styled in its normal way while her pure lavender pupil-less eyes were locked on her desk as she tapped her fingers together. Sasuke knew that she, like all of her clan, had a dojutsu called the Byakugan which allowed them to see chakra and even the tenketsu of a person's chakra network. In conjunction with their clans prized taijutsu style, the Hyuga could easily shut down an enemy's ability to use chakra and even paralyze or kill them with a tap of the fingers. However as skilled and hailed as the clan was, Hinata was none of that. She was shy and had confidence issues that people only knew stemmed from something in her clan. In fact the issues were so bad that she didn't believe she could do anything and it had only been by the bare minimum that she had passed her graduation exam. Sasuke respected her clan as they were rivals of the Uchiha since both held mighty dojutsu's, but he didn't respect Hinata herself at all because she was weak. He was thankful however that she apparently wasn't acting like a love-struck fan girl over him like just about every other girl in their class was.
Glaring at the girl next to him from across the room was Yamanaka Ino, the other of his two most obsessive fangirls. She wore a purple top and skirt with bandages wrapping around her chest and legs to cover up and had her blonde hair in a long ponytail. She, like the rest of her clan, could use jutsu that would allow her to enter a persons' mind and control them at will. While a powerful and admittedly frightening skill, Ino had not trained anywhere near hard enough to be such a threat since she chased after Sasuke with such a single minded-possessiveness the boy wondered how she could even be a ninja.
And finally was the girl next to him, Haruno Sakura. The girl was from a civilian background meaning as a shinobi she was a blank slate. She had no outstanding traits that would lead her towards any one section of the ninja arts but at the same time that could be a blessing since that meant she could pursue whatever interested her. However that was the problem. The only thing that interested her was Sasuke himself so she never trained or did anything to become strong and only did enough to pass her graduation test and that was it. She was quoted of being highly intelligent but she had none of the skills to back it up. While Sasuke couldn't understand how Ino could be a ninja, she at least had a clan to back her and aid her. The boy couldn't understand how Sakura even lasted past the first year of Academy work.
Everyone's eyes snapped to the door as it opened and in walked the two chunin that had been teaching them for the past four years, Umino Iruka and Mizuki. The two smiled at the class before taking their place in front of it. Iruka gave a small speech about how he was proud of them and that they were now brothers-in-arms before Mizuki stepped forward and began announcing that they would be placed in three man squads underneath a jonin for more training. He was about to continue when there was a knock at the door and in walked a pale white boy with black hair and a black outfit that made him look like he was either in or trying to emulate Anbu. Since he was their age, everyone assumed the latter. "Hello, my name is Sai and I have been sent here for team placements." He spoke in a clearly false cheer with a just as obvious fake smile. Iruka looked over a few papers to see that he had received a small message from the Hokage about Sai's late addition so he nodded and told the boy to take a seat before Mizuki cleared his throat and continued with team placements.
"Team One will be…" He began as the students started listening for their names and hoped to be placed with their friends or crushes, whatever the case may be. "Team Seven is Sai, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura." As soon as this team was announced two things happened. Very loudly, Ino shouted in despair as Sakura cheered about getting with Sasuke while the Uchiha cracked his knuckles and had to resist the urge to bang his head on something. Sai merely glanced at the two before returning his attention to the chunin senseis. "Quiet down!" Mizuki shouted to get Sakura and Ino to silence themselves before picking up where he left off. "Team Eight is Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba. Team Nine is still in circulation so Team Ten is Akamichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino. That's all the teams. You have an hour for lunch but then return to this class to meet your jonin sensei and begin your time training together as a team." Iruka added a few words of his own before everyone left the class, most to eat and get closer to their teammates while Sasuke went off on his own before Sakura could follow and Sai watched him from the shadows. His orders were very clear.
The Previous Day
"So you are named Sai?"
"That's correct Hokage-sama." The young boy answered as he stood before the village leader. To his right was a man in the standard Konoha jonin outfit but with a half mask that covered his nose and mouth and his headband tilted to cover his eye. This was Hatake Kakashi, who had been called to meet the boy that would be working underneath him as additional aid and protection for the last Uchiha.
"Before I give you your exact orders, I need to know what you are capable of and where exactly your skill level lies." Sarutobi asked with narrowed eyes as Kakashi watched Sai with his one eye.
"I am skilled in stealth and infiltration type missions mostly. I am decent in taijutsu, specifically kenjutsu using my tanto. My main skill though is with my ink ninjutsu that allows me to bring my paintings to life to attack and defend. I can also record and send messages with my jutsu or even fly when the situation demands it. My abilities are overall valued as a high chunin or low jonin in skill level." Sai explained. While there was a little more he could do with his jutsu he was told by his real leader, Danzo, to give out a lot of what he could do but keep some skills to himself for when they would be needed if his hostile take-over of Konoha had to happen.
"I see. Kakashi, do you have any opinion or anything to say?" The Kage asked as he turned to his jonin. The white haired man shook his head so Sarutobi turned back to Sai. "Then that will be all. Sai, your mission is to act as a genin and insure the safety of Uchiha Sasuke and your other genin teammate. While out on the field you will follow Kakashi's instructions no matter what they may be. Keep your true skill level hidden from your teammates unless the situation demands otherwise. Am I understood?"
"Yes Hokage-sama." He responded while comparing the orders to his orders from Danzo, which weren't that different, only adding that he should kill the Uchiha if he shows the slightest of traitorous thoughts as Konoha couldn't afford to any other village to gain the Sharingan.
The class was back together as the students were now sitting in their teams and talking with one another as they waited for their assigned sensei's to show up. For the most part things went quickly. Sensei's showed up in the order of teams so shortly after Team Six was picked up Sakura and Sasuke prepared themselves for when their sensei would arrive. That would not happen though as a beautiful young woman with black hair and red eyes came in claiming Team Eight. Though confused slightly about the change in order the genin she requested left with her as the rest waited for their own. Since they were told Team Nine was still in circulation from the previous year they knew Ten or Seven would be next. When a bearded smoking man with a sash for 'Fire' tied to his waist walked in and claimed Team Ten, Sasuke and Sakura were starting to get annoyed and confused as to the whereabouts of their sensei. Pretty soon all the teams were gone save for theirs as they waited in the classroom alone. Sakura took the time to attempt to ask out Sasuke, only to fail like always, as Sai sat by himself in the table behind them and painted a picture to pass the time.
Three hours after the designated pick-up time the door finally slid open and Kakashi poked his head inside. "Team Seven I presume?" The three looked to him, one emotionless and the other two annoyed and slightly confused. Sakura was about to yell at him for being late but Kakashi spoke up again, interrupting her attempt. "Well then, meet me on the roof in five minutes please." He then vanished in a puff of smoke without waiting for their responses. Sasuke grunted but got up to meet their tardy sensei as Sai cleaned up his painting supplies and followed quickly. Sakura was still staring in shock at where the jonin had been before realizing her teammates were leaving her behind and shaking her head clear while rushing after them.
The three children were soon sitting on some steps in front of Kakashi as he leaned on the roofs' railing before them. "Okay you three, from today on I'm your jonin sensei. Why don't we introduce ourselves to each other now? Say your name as well as any likes, dislikes, hobbies or dreams you may have." Sakura raised her hand so Kakashi nodded to her so she knew she had permission to speak.
"Why don't you go first so we know how it's done?" She asked, Sasuke and Kakashi staring at her in disbelief as Sai was indifferent.
"Wow, and you were quoted as being smart. What exactly was hard to get from what I said?" Kakashi openly insulted. While this wouldn't have happened normally, losing Rin and his sensei's son at the same time twelve years ago and then being unable to find the baby for those twelve years had left him somewhat jaded and cynical. He was still a loyal and intelligent Konoha shinobi, who also read porn in public and generally dismissed the questions of others with an easy indifference, but he had also developed a very slight attitude for those that couldn't handle the simple or the obvious. Sakura looked ashamed and slightly angry at the man's response as Sasuke smirked. "But fine, I'll go first. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like my books, the village and dogs. I dislike the incompetent and a few people within the village. A hobby of mine is reading my books while one of my dreams is to surpass my sensei and do him proud. Now why don't you go next pinky?" Sakura glared at him for the new nickname but went along with her introduction anyways.
"My name is Haruno Sakura, not pinky. I like Sasuke-kun and my family while I don't like Ino-pig or the other girls of our graduating class. Other than Hinata though, she's alright I guess." Sakura added as an offhand thought before getting back to her introduction. "My hobbies are reading and dieting to keep my figure while my dream is to one day have a large family and settle down after a successful career as a Kunoichi. Hopefully with Sasuke-kun." She muttered the last part but all three still heard it and said boy shivered. While he wanted to revive his clan after killing his brother, he wasn't going to do it with any weakling Kunoichi or useless yes-man, or woman as the case was. Kakashi nodded before pointing to Sasuke so he sighed but started his own.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like a lot of things and I dislike lots more, but I will say I hate fangirls like Haruno and most of the graduating Kunoichi are." Said girl just swooned muttering something along the lines of he 'didn't really mean that' getting both emotion feeling males to sigh at her obvious stupidity and denial before Sasuke continued. "My only hobby to note of is training and I don't have a dream but an ambition, because I will make it happen. I'm going to kill a certain man before rebuilding my clan." Kakashi nodded as it was what he expected before pointing to Sai so the boy gave his false smile and began speaking with the false cheer that creeped his teammates out slightly.
"My name is Sai, no surname. I like the village and tofu. I dislike threats to the village. My hobby is painting and I don't have a dream." He was short and to the point so his two teammates were confused though Kakashi expected something along this path as he had met the boy and been told who trained him. To be honest he was surprised the boy could truthfully admit to liking and disliking something as doing so meant emotions, and emotions were beaten out of those under Danzo. Perhaps the boy was lying, or maybe Danzo didn't get rid of his emotions as thoroughly as he thought. Kakashi just again nodded while making a mental note to tell the Hokage of this before speaking to his three students.
"Good, all three of you are unique with your own goals and personality. Now, tomorrow we'll have some training to see where your skills lie before beginning missions. So meet at Training Ground Seven at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Ja ne!" Kakashi called out before vanishing in another puff of smoke. The three stared at where he was for a moment before Sai got up to do his own thing (secretly watch the Uchiha for any signs of possible traitorous thoughts as well as assessing a possible skill level for the boy if he decided to train) as Sakura turned to Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun, want to go on a date with me?"
"You're annoying." Was his reply before he got up and left with his hands in his pockets for his clan compound so that he could train some more. Sakura sat there depressed for a moment before shaking her head and forcing herself to believe he was just joking and didn't really hate her and going home. He just meant all those other girls since she wasn't a fan girl, she was his 'true love'. At least that's how her mind put it. She had to believe that for her sanity's sake.
A week had passed since that day and the team was coming along as nicely as it could get in Kakashi's opinion. Since he didn't have to really do any training with Sai other than teamwork drills to make sure he could work with the other two he was able to focus on their training. He had given Sasuke a few drills that could enhance his physical strength and speed while aiding him in his fire jutsu and he had also taught Sakura a couple genjutsu. He wanted to teach her more but she complained at the slightest training the moment she got exhausted, which was quite quickly given her lack of doing any real training beforehand combined with her dieting. Sasuke had come to see Sai as something of a rival as during their group spars the boy revealed he was strong. While Sasuke was better at taijutsu, the boy could beat him in anything else. Though he didn't know or even catch on to the fact that Sai was holding back in their taijutsu spars as Danzo had told him to let the Uchiha feel superior in something so that he could satisfy his ego and would be both less likely to go rogue and more likely to work willingly with Sai. The Uchiha had also begun considering a sword as he had seen how effective Sai was with his tanto and was thinking that perhaps he could work with a blade as well, though Kakashi had told him to wait and improve in his other studies before attempting it so that he'd be strong enough to fallback on his original style in case a sword failed to fit in.
As for how well the team worked together, they did so decently. There were some problems but they weren't breaking issues in the long run. Sakura would usually drag the team down a bit due to her poor stamina but that was improving slowly. She'd make far better and faster improvements if she started training seriously but she refused to. The only other issue was Sasuke's small resentment of Sai for being stronger than him. While it was small and hardly noticeable at times it was there and made the Uchiha act impulsively in an attempt to show the boy up occasionally. While Sai and sometimes Sakura could compensate for his impulsive act and keep things going smoothly, it didn't always work so they did fail at a couple exercises. Though overall the team was running smoothly and Kakashi's only complaint was Sakura's fangirl act and having to go along with having one of Danzo's agents so close, even if the boy hadn't done anything to show he had ulterior motives or orders.
"Team Seven here for a mission Hokage-sama." Kakashi chirped as they entered the mission room, his nose deep in an orange book called Icha Icha Paradise. The aged Kage looked over the team before nodding and giving them a scroll for another D-rank before they headed out to complete it. While Sakura was fine with D-ranks since they were easy and got her some extra pocket change, Sasuke was starting to get annoyed with them. He was an Uchiha, one of the elite. Plus he was the strongest of his graduating class, he didn't count Sai since the boy hadn't actually gone to class with them and had just been brought in to balance out the teams apparently, so the D-ranks got on his nerves. They weren't missions, they were glorified chores. Sai didn't care either way as he was trained not to and had also been on more dangerous missions before so one without the risk of danger was a nice change of pace, if only he had the feelings to actually enjoy that fact though.
This became the normal routine for them as the days past. Soon enough a month had past and their teamwork and skills, at least in Sasuke's case, had improved enough that Kakashi felt safe in getting them a C rank mission. "Team Seven reporting for duty Hokage-sama."
"Ah, Kakashi, here for another D rank I suppose?" The old Kage asked with a small grandfatherly smile to the students. Sasuke hid his scowl at the thought of more chores while Sakura simply smiled and Sai had his fake smile on. Kakashi however shook his head.
"I believe my team is sufficiently trained enough for an easy C rank Hokage-sama. Are there any available?" Sasuke let out his smirk while Sakura's smile stayed the same since she was happy he said he believed them to be trained enough for the next level. Sai's smile however dropped as he went into a focused expression since C ranks were where the possibility of danger began to show up. Sarutobi looked over the students before nodding and motioning for the chunin in the room to let in the client. Once the door was opened the smell of sake assaulted the noses of the people in the room as a man in brown clothes with a straw hat and a bottle of the drink walked in.
"Huh? This is what I get? A one eyed guy and his three brats? The girl looks like she'll drop from a little wind." He commented as he took a swing from his bottle. Sakura was glaring at the man hoping he'd drop dead on his feet while Sai was running over possible scenarios in his head that could involve the man before the Hokage spoke up.
"Tazuna here is from Nami no Kuni and has requested protection for his trip home and for the duration of the building of his bridge that would connect our two countries. You would be gone for about a month or so." Kakashi nodded and then motioned to his genin.
"Alright you three, you heard Hokage-sama. Pack for at least a month long trip and then meet at the main gate in one hour." The genin nodded before heading out the door as Kakashi walked up and took the mission scroll from the Hokage and led Tazuna out so that they could wait for the students.
An hour later and Kakashi was walking up with Tazuna at his side as his genin were waiting for him. Sakura let out a shout of surprise at the man actually being on time to which he only chuckled before asking to see his students packs, since it was their first C rank he wanted to make sure they had their priorities straight. "Lets see, clothes, spare weapons, some blank scrolls and bottles of ink… for your ninjutsu correct?" Kakashi commented to Sai as he went over the supplies in the pale boys pack. Sai nodded so Kakashi went back and only counted a couple other things like a sketch book and spare book likely for his personal art rather than his weaponized versions. He then looked through Sasuke's and only had one comment to make. "Sasuke, why isn't there a basic first aid kit in here?"
"I don't plan on getting hurt so I have no need for one." Kakashi sighed.
"No one does but accidents happen. And what if your teammates are hurt and need medical attention?"
"Then they aren't worth my time and should be taken off my team." Kakashi sent him a mild glare a made sure to get his focus with a quick flaring of his killing intent on the boy.
"That's not how it works Sasuke. Konoha shinobi work with their teammates because it's only together that we are truly strong. You don't have to like them or get along with them really but you will work with them and will help them when the situation calls for it. Next time you will have a med kit in your supplies or I'll be taking you off the mission and not them." The boy scoffed but nodded his understanding as Kakashi handed his pack back to him before looking at Sakura's. And after a single glance he handed it back to her. "No, go home and try again Sakura."
"What? Why? What's wrong with it?" She asked, outraged that all the time she spent packing was being shot down as wasted. Kakashi gave her a glare worse than the one he gave Sasuke.
"All you packed are clothes, shampoo's and soaps. Not a single bit of shinobi gear at all. What do you expect to be doing Sakura? Relaxing at a resort?" The girl looked down and muttered something about '…her best' and 'Sasuke-kun' so he shook his head. "If you want to die on the mission then go right ahead with that. But if you want to be a real kunoichi you'll go back and pack right. Meaning only a few spare clothes and then spare shinobi gear like extra kunai and shuriken, as well as a med pack." He added at the end with a small glance at Sasuke. The boy ignored it as Sakura slumped home to re-pack while the rest waited peacefully for her to return. It was twenty minutes later when she did and after a second check to see that she did it right they left for Nami no Kuni.
They group was walking down a worn dirt path with Tazuna in the center. Kakashi was at the back reading his book while simultaneously keeping an eye on their surroundings while the genin were to his sides and front. Sasuke kept his eyes on the road hoping for some kind of action to prove himself as Sai, though making it seem like he was lost in his own world with his fake smile, was keeping a very watchful eye on everything to make sure nothing would become a threat to them. Sakura was just moping silently over how Kakashi had called her out on her packing and made her do it again.
As the group was walking they soon came to a puddle. While Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna took no notice to care about it Sai and Kakashi did. Sai glanced back at Kakashi to receive a shake of his head so he subtly nodded and turned back, though he kept his senses sharp and ready to react. They barely took ten steps away when suddenly Kakashi was wrapped up in chains from behind. With a sharp tug he was torn to pieces by the chains as standing near his back were two cloaked shinobi with breathing masks on and slashed Kiri headbands. "One down…" One muttered as he and his twin rushed forward.
"Four to go!" The other finished. Sakura was scared stiff as Tazuna dropped his sake bottle. Sasuke pulled out a shuriken and threw it, catching the chain between the two in the middle of a link and pinned it to a tree with a kunai follow up. He then rushed in and kicked both in the face. Before they could recover they were suddenly restrained by what seemed like snakes made of ink. They looked up to see Sai crouched down with an empty scroll and a paintbrush in his hand. Their attention was drawn back to Sasuke as he pulled out two kunai and took aim at their heads.
"Who the hell are you two and why'd you attack us?" He demanded. The tied up ninja scoffed as Sasuke growled.
"Like we have to answer to some punk ass genin."
"Then how about an A-rank jonin?" Cam a voice to their left as they all, Tazuna and genin included (other than Sai), turned to see Kakashi standing there and staring at the chunin with a blank gaze. Sakura and Sasuke looked back to where he died and were relieved somewhat to see a chopped up log that signified he had used a Kawarimi (Body Replacement) to escape. "You two are Gozu and Meizu, chunin rank missing ninja from Kiri known as the Demon Brothers. Since I highly doubt the two of you were hired to try and take out someone extremely above your reported skill level, why don't you spill the beans before I force you to." Seeing the jonin alive and well after they thought they killed him shook the two up so they quickly confessed everything, from working with Momochi Zabuza to being hired by Gato to kill Tazuna. They then pleaded for their lives but Kakashi silently walked up and then lashed out with a kick to knock them both unconscious.
"It seems this is much higher than a simple C-rank mission Kakashi-sensei." Sai commented as he went over options in his head. The jonin nodded before turning to Tazuna and flaring his killing intent on the civilian man.
"Alright Tazuna-san, no lies. You knew something like this could happen didn't you? Why didn't you ask for higher ranked protection?" Tazuna gulped in fear.
"All of Nami's spare cash went to supplies to build the bridge, all we could afford only amounted to a C-rank so we had to take our chances." He then took a deep breath before trying to explain everything and hopefully keep them with him. "We would have paid more but we couldn't. I'm sorry but Nami is going to die if we let Gato keep control of it. I had to take the risk and hope either Gato wouldn't send anyone or that you'd stills stay with even knowing I lied about it. Please, if I die then Nami dies with me. Our people are suffering and my bridge is our only hope."
'If this were any other team…' Kakashi thought as he sent a discreet glance at Sai. "Alright, team vote. Continue or leave? If we leave we doom his country, if we continue then you may lose your lives and if that happens the country still dies." Kakashi shot out before turning to his genin.
"I say we go for it. You just said you're A-rank, that should be enough since scum like this Gato guy doesn't seem like he'd pay for S-rank help. What rank is this Zabuza guy?" Sasuke asked.
"A, like me. It'd be pretty even between us under most circumstances." Kakashi admitted. Sasuke then smirked.
"Then with us three as back-up it should be in our favor. Let's go." Sasuke's confidence was possibly going to get them killed, Kakashi thought. But he knew Sai was still holding back and was in reality close to special jonin so if all else failed he could order the boy to get serious. Knowing Sasuke's decision he faced Sakura and saw her scared look. Apparently she didn't think she could do it or that they could survive. However she still nodded her head in agreement with Sasuke as it seemed her fan girl tendencies towards the boy were overriding her common sense, again. After this mission was over he'd have to try and break her of that otherwise she was going to die on a mission at some point. He then looked to Sai to see him with his blank, serious face.
"Shinobi conduct claims we should abandon him and his country to their fate as we have been lied to. We also do not have the resources nor skill level to complete this mission if the likes of Momochi Zabuza are added in to the parameters." Sai said, admitting to Kakashi's own worries had this been a normal team. However Sai then continued speaking. "Yet Nami no Kuni is supposed to be a major economic hub in the world. If Gato's hold over the country was to be broken, it could return to that status and then Konoha could use this mission as an opening to obtain a trade agreement that would better the village and country. I believe the risks are worth the potential gain sensei." He finished off with his fake smile. Kakashi actually nodded his head as he hadn't thought of that but now that it was mentioned he could see it being a major boon to Konoha that would help fix the last of the fallout from the Kyuubi attack.
"Alright then Tazuna, it looks like you still have us for the mission."
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