Team 7 started off having very simple missions, such as finding lost cats or pulling weeds out of someone's garden. Other times Team7 would just spend some of their day's training. Little by little Katsumi was getting stronger every day, along with better control of her Jutsu. Sometimes Team 7 would help work the Mino's restaurant. All of team 7 were given official passes to enter the Mino district. On other days, Katsumi would train with her clan, or with Lee. At the moment, Team 7 was on another cat mission. 

"Sasuke, I'm at point B," Sasuke said through their walkie-talkies. 

"Sakura, I'm at point C," Sakura reported.

"Kat, I'm at point D," Katsumi reported. 

"Naruto, I'm at point A, believe it," Naruto reported.  

"Go slow, Naruto," Kakashi ordered. "Okay, Squad 7. Hm? The target has moved! Follow it!" They all followed silently.

"Over there," Naruto reported from in the tree. 

"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked. 

"Five meters," Katsumi reported.

"I'm ready, just give the signal," Naruto urged. 

"I'm ready too, " Sasuke said.

"So am I," Sakura said.

"Yeah," Katsumi breathed. 

"Okay...now!" Kakashi ordered. Everyone jumped out of their spots to get the feline.

"I got him, I got him," Naruto confirmed as he grabbed hold of the furball. 

"Can you verify ribbon, right ear?" Kakashi asked as the cat scratched Naruto.

"Red ribbon, right ear," Katsumi reported.

"Affirmative, we got a positive ID," Sasuke added. 

"Right, lost pet Torah captured," Kakashi said. "Mission accomplished."

"Can't we get a better mission than this?" Naruto demanded. "I hate cats!" Soon they returned to the mission's desk, the woman was all over her cat, and the cat was in tears.

"Oh, my poor my little Torah," the woman gushed. "Mommy was so worried about her naughty little fuzzykins, yes."

"Stupid cat. That kitten deserves to be squashed," Naruto laughed. 

"No wonder he ran away," Sakura added. 

"Fuzzykins, ooh, you're my baby," the woman continued. "I'm so happy."

"Now, then, for Squad 7's next mission," Lord Third began as he looked at the paper. "We have several available tasks. Huh? Among them, babysitting the chief's counselor's 3-year-old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes, and--"

"No!" Naruto denied.

"Lord Hokage, can we please get a little more challenging mission?" Katsumi requested as she put her hands together. 

"I want to go on a real mission, something challenging and exciting, not this little kid stuff!" Naruto added. "Come on old man!"

"How dare you two!?" Iruka-sensei roared as he got to his feet. "You two are just brand-new Genin with no experience. Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself." 

"Are you serious?" Naruto demanded. "Babysitting is not a mission. It's just a stupid--Aah!" Kakashi gently punched his head, Naruto went face-first into the floor. 

"Will you put a lid on it?" Kakashi ordered. 

"Naruto," Lord Third began. 

"Aah!" Naruto exclaimed as he sat down, holding his head. 

"Don't think I forgot about you, Katsumi," Lord Hokage stated.

"Ah!" Katsumi exclaimed before lowering her head.

"It seems the two of you do not understand the tasks you have been given," Lord Hokage stated. "Listen, many different kinds of requests come into our village every day, from babysitting to assassinations. these requests are carefully recorded, analyzed, then ranked A, B, C, or D, depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also ranked by ability--Hokage at the top, Jonin, Chunin, and Genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience. And if the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village and our work. Since you are untried Genin just starting down the Shinobi path, you are given D-level assignments, of course. Hmm?" Naruto was going off about ramen.

"So I had this tonkotsu ramen yesterday, and I'm thinking miso ramen today," Naruto rambled. 

"Silence!" Lord Third demanded.  

"Oh, sorry," Kakashi apologized. 

"Aah!" Naruto exclaimed as he faced the Hokage. "You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something. But I'm not the little brat who used to pull pranks all the time. And Kat has way better control of her Jutsu than she did in the academy! We are a ninja now, and we want a ninja mission." He pouted, turning away from the desk. 

"Hmm, I'm going to hear about this late," Kakashi groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. The Hokage started laughing. 

"Naruto wants us to know that he's not a brat. He's a former brat and he wants a mission. So bet it," Lord Hokage gave in.

"Really?" Katsumi asked in disbelief as the rest of her squad gasped.

"Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission," Lord Hokage allowed. "You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

"Really?" Katsumi asked with a smile. 

"Yes!" Naruto cheered as he faced the desk again. "Who? Who? Are we guarding a princess? Or some counselor?"

"Don't be so impatient," Lord Hokage ordered. " I will bring him in now. Send in our visitor." They looked back, they saw an old drunk man open the door. 

"What the?" the man demanded. " A bunch of little snot-nosed kids?" He drank his alcohol sloppily. Naruto stood up looking at the man. "And you, the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"

"Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his----?" Naruto began, and the others walked up to where Naruto stood. Technically, Katsumi was the shortest if it wasn't for the buns on her head. Naruto glanced at the others, he grew angry. Kakashi grabbed Naruto's jacket and the blonde kicked in the air. "I'll demolish you. Let me get my hands on him, I'll destroy him!"

"You can't demolish the client, Naruto," Kakashi informed. "It doesn't work that way."

"I am Tazuna, a master bridge builder, and I must return to my country," Tazuna introduced himself. "I'm building a bridge there that will change our world, and I expect you to get me there safely, even if it means giving up your life." Katsumi went home and packed a bag.

"Gran-Gran?" Katsumi called out as she left her room.  A little old lady poked her head out down the hall. "I am leaving for a few days for a mission."

"When will you be back?" Gran-Gran asked. 

"We are escorting a man to the Land of Waves, I'm not sure about when we will return," Katsumi answered.

"Just make sure to not let your teammates do all the work," Gran-Gran stated as she touched Katsumi's face. 

"Where's Mom and Dad?" Katsumi asked.

"Your father is talking to the Hokage about a light issue and your mom is going to the aviary to deliver a letter to her family in her village," Gran-Gran answered. "As soon as you become a respectable ninja, we will no longer be faced with these problems, I just know it." Katsumi nodded. "I'll let your parents know that you left, have a good mission, make your mark!"

"Yes, Gran-Gran," Kastumi nodded, she then grabbed her bag and left to go meet the others. She got to the gates to find Lee going inside.

"Out on your first mission away from the village?" Lee asked as he skidded over to her.

"Yeah, we are escorting a bridge-builder back to his home in the land of waves," Katsumi answered. "I shouldn't keep the others waiting."

"Good luck on your mission!" Lee lit up. "I'm sure it'll go great! When in doubt use the power of youth!"

"Right," Katsumi breathed. "I'll see you later!" She waved before taking off to the gates. Once they were all at the meeting spot, they began their journey to the land of waves. 

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered once he crossed the gate line. "All right!"

"What are you getting so excited about, Naruto?" Sakura asked. 

"This is the first time I ever left the village," Naruto informed as he did quick checks of his surroundings. "I'm a traveler now, believe it."

"Hey, am I supposed to trust my life to this runt?" Tazuna asked as he pointed at Naruto. "He's a joke." Naruto stopped laughing. 

"He's with me, and I'm a Jonin, so you don't need to worry," Kakashi assured. 

Naruto turned around, pointing at their client. "Hey, never insult a ninja. It's a big mistake. And I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm going to be a Hokage and you'll look up to me. My name's Naruto Uzumaki. Remember it." 

Tazuna took a drink. "Hokage are powerful and wise. You are puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage, I'll sprout wings and fly."

"Aah! Shut up!" Naruto shouted. "I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you!"

Tazuna looked at him. "Ha! You can become Hokage 10 times over, and to me, you'll still be nobody, a loser."

"Aah!" Naruto shouted, Kakashi grabbed him before Naruto could get any closer to Tazuna. "I'm going to make you pay for that right now!"

"I told, you're supposed to protect the client, not attack him," Kakashi scolded. 

"Let me go! I'll show you!" Naruto shouted as he tried to get free. "That's right, I'm talking to you!" After getting Naruto to calm down, they continued on their journey. Katsumi was walking in front of the group with Naruto.

"Say, Mr. Tazuna?" Sakura asked. 

"What is it?" Tazuna asked. 

"Your country is the Land of Waves, right?" Sakura asked. 

"Yeah. What of it?" Tazuna asked. 

"Kakashi sensei, there are ninja in that country too, aren't there?" Sakura asked. 

"No, there are no ninja in the Land of Waves," Kakashi answered. 

"No?" Katsumi asked as she asked looked back.

"In other countries, there are hidden villages, each with their own different customs and cultures, where ninja reside."

"Can you explain it more?" Katsumi asked.

"To the people of this continent, the existence of shinobi villages means strength, military strength," Kakashi began to explain. "In other words, that's how they protect themselves and maintain the balance of power with neighboring countries. The ninja villages are not controlled by any government. They're independent and have equal status. Now, a small island like the Land of Wave has natural protection from the sea, so there's no need for a ninja village. The five ancient lands that possess Shinobi villages are the Lands of Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind, and Earth. They each occupy vast territories. Together they are known as the five great Shinobi nations. The Land of Fire has the Village Hidden in the Leaves; the Land of Water, the Village Hidden in the Mist; the Land of Lightning, the village Hidden in the Clouds; the Land of Wind, the Village Hidden in the Sand; and the Land of Earth, the Village Hidden in the Stones. Only the leaders of these hidden villages are permitted the name Kage, which means 'shadow.' Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage--These are the leaders, the five shadows that reign over thousands of ninja."

Sakura gasped happily. "Then Lord Hokage's really important!"

'If he's so important, then why doesn't he just send in the right people to fix the issues in my district,' Katsumi thought to herself. 'How many times is the light going to be an issue?'

"Hey!" Kakashi called out. The students all made weary sounds. "You all just doubted Lord Hokage, didn't you? That's what you were thinking." Naruto, Katsumi, and Sakura all shook their heads. Kakashi put his hand on Sakura's head. "Well, anyway, there are ninja battles in a C-ranked mission, so you can relax."

"And we're not going to run into any foreign enemy ninja or anything like that," Sakura smiled. 

Kakashi started laughing. "Not likely." They continued on their journey, at some point they crossed a puddle in the middle of the road. Katsumi glanced at it.

'It hasn't rained in weeks,' Katsumi thought to herself. 

"What?" Kakashi asked as he looked back, everyone looked to see two men had started to capture Kakashi with chains. 

"Huh?" Sakura asked.

"What?" Naruto asked. 

"Do it," one of them grunted. The chains went through, they watched Kakashi vanish, Sakura gasped, then screamed after.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted, the men appeared behind Naruto laughing evilly. 

"Now it's your turn," a man said. 

"Aah!" Naruto froze; Sasuke and Katsumi went forward. Sasuke threw a shuriken lodging the chains into a tree. Once he got the two trapped, Katsumi put her hands on the chains, freezing them to the tree. The men managed to break free and then went right for Tazuna. Tazuna grunted as Naruto gasped, Sakura seemed frozen. 

"I've got to stop them! I've got to stop them!" Sakura shouted as she got in front of Tazuna with a kunai. "Stay behind me!" Sasuke got in front of Sakura, putting his arms out, as Katsumi got in front of him, she knelt down, with her hands on the ground. A wall of ice started to rise up as the enemy was getting closer by the second. Suddenly, Kakashi reappeared, he had both men in a chokehold. 

"Hi," Kakashi greeted as Katsumi started to melt her ice. Sakura gasped happily. 

"Huh?" Naruto asked. "But he was---What?" Naruto looked over to see a ton of wood chopped up. "Kakashi sensei used a replacement jutsu."

Kakashi over at Naruto. "Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that. " Kakashi walked over to everyone else. "Good job, Sasuke and Kat. Very smooth and excellent teamwork. You as well, Sakura. 

"Hey," Sasuke said looking at Naruto.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked. 

"You're not hurt, are you?" Sasuke asked. "Scaredy-Cat."

"Sasuke!" Naruto growled. 

"Naruto, stand still," Kakashi ordered. "These ninja have poison in their claws. We need to get it out of you quickly." Naruto started whimpering. "You have to open the wound and remove it. It's in your blood, so don't move around. That spreads the poison. By the way, Mr. Tazuna..."

The man jumped. "Yeah, what?"

"We need to talk," Kakashi urged. They tied the ninja to a tree. "They're Chunin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting, no matter what the sacrifice."

"How did you know about our ambush?" one of the men asked. 

"A puddle on a clear day, when it hasn't rained in weeks?" Katsumi recalled. 

"In that case, why'd you leave it for the Genin to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked. 

"I could have taken them out quickly," Kakashi confirmed. "But then I'd have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was...and what they were after. 

"Hmmm?" Tazuna asked. "What are you getting at?"

"This," Kakashi said as he faced their client. "I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja, or if they were after you, the master bridge builder. When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen. You didn't say there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this, it would be a B-rank mission or higher. Our task was simply to get you to your destination and protect you while you finished building your bridge. If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would have staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B mission. Apparently, you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."

"We are Genin," Sakura reminded the man. "This is too advanced for our level of training. We should go back. And I really think we need to treat Naruto's wound and get the poison out as soon as possible." 

"Back in our village, we can take him to a doctor," Katsumi brought up.

They all looked over at Naruto. "Ahh--Huh?"

"Naruto's hand could become a problem," Kakashi admitted. "I guess we should go back to the village." 

Naruto growled and panted. He took out a kunai, slamming it into his wound. They all gasped. He then turned his back on everyone. "Why am I so different? Why am I always--" Naruto started groaning. 

Sakura ran over to him. "Naruto, stop that! What are you doing?"

" I worked so hard to get here, pushing myself until it hurt, training alone for hours, anything to get stronger, to reach my dream," Naruto explained. "I will never back down again and let someone else rescue me. I will never run away. And I will not lose to Sasuke. Upon this wound, I make this pledge, believe it. Bridge builder, I'll complete this mission and protect you with this kunai knife." He faced everyone again, his face filled with determination. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Naruto, uh, that was really cool, how you took the poison out and all," Kakashi complimented. "But if you lose any more blood, you're going to die." A few birds whistled as Naruto started to whimper. Kakashi got behind him. "Good idea to stop the bleeding now, seriously. "

"Not, not, not!" Naruto cried out. He started to move around like a land octopus as Katsumi walked over. "No, no, no! I'm too young for it to all end like this. No, no, no!"

"Show me your hand," Kakashi instructed as he held out his hand. 

"No, no, help, no!" Naruto continued to cry. "No, no!"

"Naruto, you've got a self-abusive personality," Katsumi scolded as she stood next to Sakura. 

"It's called masochism," Sakura added as Naruto gave Kakashi his hand.  Kakashi stared at the wound.

"Um, um--" Naruto sounded getting their teacher's attention. "You have a really serious look on your face. "You're scaring me. Am I okay?"

"Uh, yeah, you should be fine," Kakashi answered as he started to bandage the hand up. After, they continued on with their journey.