"Zabuza Momochi?"
"The one and only."
"Kakashi's team faced the Demon of the Hidden Mist?" Naruto asked. The girls seemed confused, he couldn't blame. Iruka was in a different state altogether.
"No," Iruka looked at the Hokage with betrayal in his eyes. "Lord Hokage, are they-"
"They're fine," Sarutobi assured him, Ino and Sakura seemed to take a breath of relief after hearing that. Hinata too, she was good friends with Kiba growing up—who apparently played a factor in boosting up her morale when they were kids. He'd have to thank her one of these days. The burdens a fiancé had. "Kakashi fought off Zabuza before a fake Hunter nin took him away. Paralyzed him with needles to make it look like he was dead."
"Thank God," Iruka sat back down. The man was genuinely worried about his students. "To think Kakashi fought off one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
"Yes, but he's retained injuries from the battle," Hokage clarified and went into great details about what happened. The girls were scared and relieved. He couldn't blame them. Naruto, on the other hand, was pissed.
No, not pissed at the fact that Zabuza attacked them. No, that was how the shinobi system worked. What did get to him was the fact that Zabuza got that chance. The Kakashi he knew was nowhere near as weak.
Zabuza Momochi, A Rank nin, high bounty, wanted by the Mizukage's Anti-Bloodline faction for desertion, treason, betrayal and attempted murder of their leader. Wielder of the Executioner Blade and one of the most overrated threats in that side of the country. Some would call him egotistical or overconfident, but Naruto could easily dispatch someone like him, as could Kakashi. Did leaving ANBU really hamper his skills that much? Would it happen to him?
"Naruto," Sarutobi spoke, "your team is to back up Kakashi, get the Bridge up in Wave Country and fend off Zabuza."
"Who hired him?" Naruto asked, then thought about it for a second. "It's probably Gato isn't it?"
"Yes," the Hokage replied.
"Do we take care of him too?"
"If needs be, though he does have a better purpose if he's still alive."
"Understood," Naruto said and turned to his team. "Go home, pack for two weeks, say your farewells and meet me at the village gate in one hour." They didn't need to be told twice, there was a certain level of mutual respect they had going on.
"Speaking of an hour," Sarutobi looked at the chūnin, "Iruka could you go and get that file I handed to you a week ago?"
"The Kumo one?"
"The very same. Don't be late."
"Yes, sir," Iruka got up from his station and passed by Naruto, putting a hand on his shoulder. There was no doubt, that was pride in the man's eyes. Even Naruto couldn't hold back a smile. "You've come a long way, Naruto. Right now, if you keep this up you'll surely become Hokage." Naruto didn't want to say no to his face and simply nodded. The man left and Naruto looked at the Hokage.
"What's the real reason you're sending me out there?"
"Excuse me?"
"If it was to protect their team, or even take out Zabuza you could've sent a single jōnin to help them," Naruto pointed out. "What's your real endgame?"
"Did you get Jiraiya's letter?" The Hokage asked as he took out another scroll.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Naruto saw a red scroll being thrown his way. Opening it, his eyes widened and the air in the room thickened. "You're serious?"
"Yes," Sarutobi said. "Times are changing."
"This is going to set off a reaction, you know," Naruto closed the scroll. "I can't even begin to describe how many laws in the Treaty we're going to be violating once this gets done."
"Don't tell me, Ghost," Sarutobi leaned forward, "have you actually begun to care about rules?"
"Not in your life," Naruto Uzumaki, formerly known as Ghost, smiled. "Anything else?"
"Yes, another jōnin will be joining you as backup, just in case, and a cover of course."
"Okay, does he know about the true mission?"
"No, only you do," Sarutobi confirmed. "Now go on, you don't want to keep your team and her waiting."
"Her?"
"Yes, her."
"Okay," Naruto paused. "Who the fuck is her?"
"The jōnin that's going with you, of course."
"Yes, I know, you monkey fuck," Naruto knew the old man just wanted to hear him curse, "Who's the jōnin?"
"Kurenai Yuhi."
Note to self: fetch saké before leaving.
#
Sakura Haruno was an eager creature. Always had been, be it due to her nature to learn something new, insatiable curiosity towards all things dark and mysterious, or just something that was unexpected. All done with packing her bags, bidding her goodbyes and running from home to the gates, she found that her teammates had arrived at the same time as her. It'd be the first time she stepped outside the walls of Konoha. Fear did work in her mind, all those talks from her mother about the enemies lay beyond the lines. Excitement was there too, seeing a whole new world for the first time.
Life was becoming bit normal now, barring her arguments with Ino—which sure as the sun existed—would never end. Otherwise, her days had been going fairly well. Of course, it would be better if she could see Sasuke again. To Ino, Ami, and all the other girls who were infatuated with the boy, her love might have seemed like nothing more than a crush. They were so wrong. It wasn't the fact that Sasuke was from a clan that attracted, or that he was ridiculously good looking (it was BIG plus though), but all in all it was his solitary shell that did. She still remembered the day, it was the second year of the Academy. When Sasuke had actually staved off a few bullies off of her and Ino, that was the day he had stolen her heart, and she had gladly given it to him.
Of course, Ino got the impression that he did it to save her. The dumb bitch.
"What are you in deep thought about?" Ino spoke to her for the first time with that sneering, bitchy voice and…it was the first time she did all day today. Brilliant green eyes narrowed at the blonde in suspicion. "Alright, what's with that look?"
"Girls," Hinata tried to be the peacemaker, as was her role, "let's not argue right now."
"You didn't bitch at me the entire day," Sakura honestly answered. "You didn't even complain much today either. Come to think of it, you've been weird for the past few days."
"What?" Ino rolled her eyes, trying to dodge the subject; Sakura knew her tells too well. "You're just making stuff up. Get out of my face."
"Ano," Hinata held her chin in thought. "She's right, Ino-san."
"For the last time, get rid of the san, Hinata."
"She is right though," the Hyuga continued, unafraid of the small look Ino gave her. Part of Sakura wondered what magical potion sensei made her drink to become so bold. She might need to get some of it herself when Sasuke-kun was around. "You and Sakura-san haven't been, well, arguing. Too much lately."
"I have better things to do than waste my breath on her," Ino replied with a huff. "Besides, where's our stupid sensei anyway?"
...
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