I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

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"Sasuke. I'm at Point B."

"Sakura. I'm at Point C."

There was a pause, before static crackled again and Sasuke's concerned voice asked, "Naruko are you at Point A?"

Another pause before the missing fox's voice intoned softly, "Target has moved. I'm going to follow it."

A black shape with eyes that glowed a menacing yellow leapt through the foliage, hissing as she ran along. It dove right into the bushes, and after a tense minute Sasuke peeked out from behind his tree, Sakura following suit from behind her own tree and Naruko from the bough above the bush the target was hiding in.

"Over there," Sakura murmured.

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

"5 meters," Sasuke answered. "We're ready, just give the signal," he added when he saw Sakura and Naruko nod at him.

"Okay... now!"

No sooner had Kakashi uttered the words, all three of them launched from their hiding spots and dove at the silhouette. Sasuke grabbed the cat around its middle, and it immediately let out a ear-piercing screech, struggling immensely with its claws flying everywhere.

"Did you verify its her with the red bow on her ear?"

Sakura was kneeling by Sasuke as he wrestled with Tora, Naruko giggling as she reported back to Kakashi through the earpiece, "Affirmative, we got a positive ID."

"Right, Lost Pet Tora captured," Kakashi said as he stood by the forest. "Mission accomplished."

Naruko signalled to her teammates, and with the same devious smirk, Sasuke and Sakura screamed through the earpiece, "CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS?! I HATE CATS!"

Naruko grinned as she heard Kakashi's wince through the earpiece, and took the cat from her Uchiha teammate, who was more than happy to give it up. Naruko started to stroke Tora as they walked back to the Hokage Tower, and surprisingly, the legendary cat settled in her arms and started to purr.

"How typical of Naruko," Sasuke muttered under his breath. Sakura giggled at him, patting his shoulder in sympathy.

With the cat giving them no more trouble, it was easy for them to make their way back to the Hokage Tower. Kakashi had Shunshin'd into the office, raising his eyebrow at the suddenly-docile cat, who was being glared at by Sasuke. Sakura just looked amused by the entire thing.

"Oh my poor little Tora, Mommy was so worried about her naughty little fuzzykins, yes," the Fire Daimyo's wife cooed as she rubbed her chubby cheek with the traumatized cat's.

"Stupid cat, that kitty deserves to be squashed," Sasuke muttered as Sakura started to heal him of the numerous scratches Tora had inflicted upon him.

"No wonder he ran away," Sakura mused as she smiled sympathetically at her teammate, him being the only one to suffer the wrath of the, as Shikamaru would say, troublesome kitty.

"Now then, for Team 7's next mission, we have several available tasks. Huh... among them babysitting the Chief Councillor's three-year-old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes and—"

"NO!"

Sarutobi looked up with a raised eyebrow to see Sasuke and Sakura frowning heavily, clearly the ones who had objected. Naruko's face was neutral, though annoyance lined her features as her arms rose to form an "X" in front of her as she asked simply, "Can we get a real mission already?"

"Something challenging and exciting, not this... this child's play," Sakura nodded to Naruko.

"She's got a point," Sasuke admitted.

'I knew this was coming,' Kakashi thought despairingly. They had put up with it for a while, but he could tell his Genin team was just waiting to blow. They all had massive potential, and being smothered like this was killing them.

"Babysitting's not a real mission, it's just a stupid—"

"Will you put a lid on it," Kakashi drawled in a monotone as he quickly placed his hand over his troublesome imouto's mouth.

Naruko removed the hand with a quick nip to the palm. "What, we were all thinking it."

Sarutobi sighed heavily; he too was expecting this at some point. "Team 7... it seems you do not understand the tasks you have been given. Listen: many different kinds of requests come into our village every day, from babysitting to assassinations. These requests are carefully recorded, analyzed and ranked A, B, C or D, depending on their difficulty. We ninja are also ranked by ability: Hokage at the top, Jonin, Chuunin and with Genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select the missions and assign them to ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience. And if the mission is successful, then 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-ranked assignments of course—"

"So I had tonkotsu ramen yesterday, and I'm thinking miso ramen today," Naruko was telling her teammates who were actually listening to her.

"Oh, I'd go along with miso too," Sakura agreed.

"No, I would choose tomato ramen," Sasuke shook his head, though a small smile rested on her lips.

"You always go for tomato, can't you try something else? Like I don't know, beef udon?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"Beef udon is absolutely nothing in comparison to tomato," the Uchiha retorted adamantly, as if such a thought were atrocious.

"Team 7!" Sarutobi snapped.

"Oh, sorry, were you still talking?" Sakura asked sweetly as Team 7 turned towards their Third Hokage.

"You know, the Old Man's lecturing us like he's our grandfather," Naruko mumbled to Sasuke who was standing near her, and he felt inclined to agree. "We're ninja now and we should get real ninja missions," Naruko huffed as she crossed her arms childishly, turning her pouting face to the side.

Kakashi sweatdropped at his sister's sudden childishness as he sighed. "I'm going to hear about this later..." the Jonin mumbled.

'So, Naruko wants to prove herself and her team...' Sarutobi smiled to himself. "So be it."

Team 7's heads snapped up, their oh-so-intelligent response being, "Huh?"

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

"Really?" Sakura blinked, still trying to process that Naruko had somehow convinced the Hokage to give them a higher-ranked mission. "Who are we guarding?"

"I'll bring him in now," Sarutobi smiled. "Send in our visitor."

The door slid open and a strong stench of alcohol came in with an old man. "What the...? A bunch of little snot-nosed kids?" he growled drunkenly before taking a swig from his bottle. "And you," the old man continued. "The littlest one with the blank look on her face. Do you really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"

Naruko blinked. "Is he talking about me?"

Sakura and Sasuke glanced at Naruko and shifted in, affirming that Naruko was the shortest out of them all. The blonde sighed; the fact that she was almost a year younger than the rest of her generation was really starting to annoy her now.

Sasuke glared at the client. Drunk or not, how dare he assume Naruko was an incompetent shinobi just because of her size? If this wasn't the client they were supposed to be protecting, Sasuke didn't think he would have the self-restraint to stop himself from demolishing the old man. Maybe, just maybe, he could slip a little something into his food...

"You can't "demolish" the client, Sasuke," Naruko muttered as she observed the glaring Uchiha, who had a sadistic gleam in his onyx eyes.

"Oh I don't know about that," Sakura murmured in a sickly sweet voice. "Badmouthing you just because of your size while I'm in the room? I don't think so."

From her mindscape, Kurama started to laugh, and none too quietly, either. "Kit I think you might want to get your teammates and sensei out of here before they strangle your client. Sasuke and Sakura are barely stopping themselves as it is, and I can feel malice in Kakashi already."

Naruko sighed despairingly. Why the hell did she know these people again? Oh right, one was her father's old student and her big brother, the other was her best friend and teammate, and the other was her "sister". But seriously, who the heck was this... protective?

"Could you guys just quit thinking up of ways to kill him?" Naruko half-whined half-pleaded before she turned to their client. "Hey there mister, just ignore these two. They tend to go a little overboard even though I have no idea why. My name's Naruko Uzumaki. This idiot is Sasuke Uchiha and this sweet cherry blossom here is Sakura Haruno. Oh, and that's my sensei and big brother Kakashi Hatake."

Tazuna eyed them warily, giving a start when Naruko introduced herself to be an Uzumaki.

"What's your name, why do you need escorting, and where to?" Naruko asked, smiling kindly up at the old man.

"My name is Tazuna, and I'm a master bridge-builder, and I need to get back to my country," Tazuna said nervously, still warily eyeing the two kids and one Jonin who were still emitting dark auras. "I'm building a bridge to change our world, and I hope you can get me there safely."

Naruko nodded, smiling. Although, her kind smile dropped when she turned towards Sasuke and Sakura. With a perfectly blank expression, she took hold of their ears and dragged them out the door. "Cut it out you two," she hissed, the boy and girl whining in pain as they were dragged out. She continued muttering in annoyance under her breath, only a few words being caught by the other occupants of the room.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at the Genin, internally thanking his lucky stars she wasn't scolding him. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

"Meet at the village gates in an hour. And do not be late, Kakashi!" she called back sharply, letting a little bit of Kurama's chakra seep into her voice and noting with satisfaction that the Copy Nin was nodding his head with a small salute.

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As Team 7 walked along, they kept a careful eye on the bridge builder, who seemed to be very nervous. Naruko could sense a malice-filled presence growing nearer, and her brow furrowed when she stepped over a puddle. At that moment, the malice grew to suffocating levels but as she moved further along, the level lessened.

Her training kicking in, Naruko quickly dropped a seal filled with Lightning chakra on the puddle, discreetly forming a ram seal to activate it.

Not too long after, pain-filled screams echoed around the area, and Team 7 whirled around to the puddle. Two rogue ninja, whom Naruko and Kakashi immediately identified as the Demon Brothers, emerged with their weapons drawn.

"Sakura go guard Tazuna. Naruko, with me!" Sasuke ordered before Kakashi could even say a word. Sakura rolled her eyes before taking a defensive stance before the bridge builder. She knew why she had to stay behind; because she was a medic, and medics were always the most vital part of a team. Add to the fact that her senbon really wouldn't be that effective with those chains.

Naruko grabbed a shuriken from her pouch, throwing it with deadly accuracy so the chain that was shared between the Demon Brothers was pinned against a nearby tree. Sasuke immediately threw a kunai through the hole in the shuriken, securing it and the uselessness of the chains. He then proceeded to jump onto their shoulders while they were immobilized, grabbing the arm gauntlets of the Demon Brothers and kicking out.

Unfortunately instead of knocking them out, it only released them from their chains and they immediately headed straight for Sakura and Tazuna. The pinkette narrowed her eyes and readied a handful of senbon between her fingers, knowing it wouldn't do much but if she could try to get past their armour she may be able to hit a nerve.

Naruko reacted quicker. Not wanting to be too flashy, but also wanting to be quick, she focused her chakra into her right hand and golden chakra chains flew out of her hand, binding the two rogue ninja. With a quick jab on a pressure point in their necks, the rogues fell unconscious. She stood above them for a moment, waiting for any unexpected movements. When none came, she simply turned and headed back to her team.

The Jonin appraised them all before giving his infamous eye-smile. "Good job you three. I expected nothing less from you. And Naruko, I didn't know you already unlocked your Uzumaki bloodline."

The blonde shrugged with a smile.

"Well, Tazuna. Looks like—"

"You're an Uzumaki," Tazuna interrupted, staring at Naruko.

The blonde raised a delicate eyebrow. "I did introduce myself as an Uzumaki before, you know."

"Yes but... I thought all the Uzumaki died out."

Sakura was confused, so Naruko elaborated for her. "The Uzumaki was a powerful clan that was located near the Land of Waves. Uzushio, or the Village of the Whirlpools, was essentially a village of one clan. They were renowned for their adeptness and skill in fūinjutsu, to the point where it led to their destruction. I'm the last one of my kind."

"Like Sasuke," Sakura whispered, understanding.

Sasuke frowned slightly at Naruko. Clearly, when Naruko had told Sasuke of her missing family, it was not the Uzumaki clan. No, it was something more... something about the vague way she spoke of her family seemed like they were hidden. And if Naruko truly was the last of her kind...

Kakashi cleared his throat, and everyone turned to him. "As I was saying, Tazuna, you have a lot of explaining to do. We were attacked by Chuunin, who specialize in relentless attack and will not stop, no matter what the sacrifice. I could've taken them out quickly, but I had to learn what their objective was, and who they were after... luckily Sasuke and Naruko allowed them enough time to reveal that."

"H-Huh? What are you getting at?" he started sweating in fear.

"I wanted to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja, or after you, the master bridge builder." His tone suggested he thought of Tazuna to be anything but. "When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection against 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-ranked mission or higher."

Tazuna looked down at the ground, clearly guilty.

"Our task was simply to get you to your destination, and protect you until you finished building your bridge. If we knew we were fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would've staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B-ranked mission. Apparently, you have your reasons, but lying to us is unacceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission."

"No, we're really not," his imouto's voice cut in.

Kakashi turned with a raised eyebrow to where Naruko was standing between Sasuke and Sakura. "And what do you mean by that, Naruko?"

"Naruko and I took out the Demon Brothers with relative easiness," Sasuke jerked his head at the blonde. "And we fell into formation almost immediately. We all knew our roles, and we're advanced enough to be able to defeat Chuunin despite our rank of Genin."

"So, I say let's keep going," Sakura smiled determinedly. "Besides, I have enough training to be able to heal most wounds, so we don't have to go back for a doctor or anything. One of the reasons Sasuke made me stay back," she playfully jabbed the Uchiha's ribs, who in turn, gave a small quirk of his lips.

'They are working together quite well,' Kakashi mused to himself. 'Perhaps it would be beneficial to them to continue, and see how much they can handle together. It seems they are more advanced than most Genin would be, and none of them are shying away from a mission that is turning out to be higher ranked than we thought.'

"Very well," he voiced. "If all of you are in favour of continuing, then we shall."

Team 7 did a group high-five, smiles or smirks decorating their faces. Without acknowledging their sensei and client, the three children walked right past them and towards their destination.

"Hey, let's play a game," Sakura piped up.

"What game?" Naruko elbowed Sasuke's gut lightly.

Sasuke resisted the urge to facepalm, only because Naruko perked up at the suggestion, clearly interested. And seriously, what was up with his teammates and elbowing his gut?

"Naruko. Iruka-sensei, Choji or Shikamaru. Kiss Marry Kill?"

Kakashi groaned as Tazuna sweatdropped. Did kids these days really play these type of games?

Naruko hummed. "So hard. I think I'll Kiss Iruka-sensei, Marry Choji and Kill Shikamaru. Because Shikamaru would think it's too troublesome to marry."

Sakura snickered. "True that."

"Why'd you marry Choji?" Sasuke asked absent-mindedly, eyes flickering back from Naruko to their surroundings, back and forth.

"Well, Choji's sweet, and I could never kill Iruka-sensei after all he's done for me in the past two years," Naruko shrugged. "Okay Sasuke: Ino, Tenten, or Tazuna. Kiss Marry Kill?"

Sasuke sighed. "Really Naruko? Ugh, I guess I'd Kiss Ino, Marry Tenten and Kill Tazuna. You can guess the reasons."

Sakura smirked. "Let me guess, you'd rather kiss a fangirl than marry her, and you hate Tazuna."

"Drunken old man," Sasuke muttered angrily as his teammates giggled.

"Sakura: Shikamaru, Kiba or Hinata. Kiss Marry Kill?"

"Hmm, Kiss Hinata, Marry Shikamaru and Kill Kiba. Because I like Hinata but I don't swing that way and Kiba is an annoying pain the neck," Sakura sighed but her eyes lit up in a way that made her teammates wary. "Naruko again: Hashirama Senju, Sasuke or Kakashi. Kiss Marry Kill."

Naruko hummed thoughtfully, not noticing the way Sasuke's cheeks were dusted pink. "I'd Kiss Kakashi, Marry Sasuke and Kill Hashirama. You know, because Hashirama's decades older than me and he's also dead, so there's no way I'd kiss or marry a corpse. Or maybe he's a skeleton by now... ew that's gross to even think about. Unhygienic. And not to mention disrespectful."

Sakura shook her head fondly, internally musing on how Naruko could so easily get sidetracked and forget she just said she'd marry her teammate.

"Sasuke: Mito Uzumaki, Sakura or Kakashi."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "Kiss Mito, Marry Sakura and Kill Kakashi. Because Sakura's the only choice my age and female, and... there's no way I'm kissing Kakashi." The very thought of it made the poor Uchiha heir want to gag. Sakura and Naruko snickered quietly at the disgusted look on his face, but the pinkette stopped when Sasuke spoke. "Alright Sakura: Tobirama Senju, Naruko or Kakashi. Kiss Marry Kill?"

"Kiss Naruko, Marry Tobirama and Kill Kakashi," Sakura smiled sweetly. "Because I like Naruko and would never kill her, and because Tobirama is dead so that means I can still do whatever I want as a free woman. Since, you know, I don't really have to do anything for him and probably won't have any legal obligation to. I mean, he's dead."

'I am so over this already,' Kakashi moaned to himself. Why did he ever volunteer to take on this team of Genin again?

"Why would you guys all kill Kakashi?" Naruko wondered aloud, sounding genuinely curious.

"Because he's the only choice left," Sakura answered at the same time Sasuke cried vehemently, "I am not kissing that cyclops!"

Kakashi sighed quietly, hoping they would arrive at Wave quickly before he lost his patience and slapped silencing seals on them.

Although, knowing Naruko, she would find a way to undo them.

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"Tazuna, before we reach the pier I want to ask you something," Kakashi said lowly as they travelled by boat through the dense fog. "The men who are after you, I need to know why. If you don't tell us, I'm afraid we'll have to end this mission when we drop you ashore."

"Hmm," Tazuna murmured. "I have no choice but to tell you... no, I want you to know the truth. Like you said, this is beyond the scope of your original mission. The one who seeks my life is a very short man, who casts a very long and deadly shadow."

"A deadly shadow?" Kakashi repeated. "Who is it?"

"You know him. At least, I'm sure you've heard his name before. "He's one of the wealthiest men in the world. The shipping magnet, Gatō."

"Huh?" Kakashi's eye widened. "Gatō? Of Gatō Transport? He's a business leader, everyone knows him!"

"Gatō is a very powerful tycoon from a famous company, that's true, but below the surface with the same ruthless methods he uses to take over businesses and nations, he sells drugs and contraband, using gangs and ninja," Tazuna revealed with a level of sorrow in his voice. "It was one year ago, when Gatō first set his sights on the Land of Waves. He came to our island and used his vast wealth to take total control of our transport and shipping. Anyone who tried to stand in his way simply... disappeared. In an island nation, a man who controls the sea controls everything. Finance, government, our very lives. But there's one thing he fears: the bridge. When it is complete, it will join us to the land and that will break his control. I am the bridge builder."

"So that's it," Sakura said thoughtfully. "Since you're in charge of the bridge, you're standing in this gangster's way."

"That means," Sasuke mused, "the guys we fought in the forest. They were working for Gatō."

"I don't understand," Kakashi said. "If you knew he was dangerous, knew he'd send ninja to eliminate you, why did you hide that from us?"

"Because the Land of Waves is a small and impoverished nation. Even our nobles have little money. The common people who are building this bridge, they can't pay for an A or B-ranked mission. It's too expensive. If you end the mission when you drop me ashore, there will be no bridge. They'll assassinate me before I reach home."

"So all we have to do is make sure you don't get killed and drop you off at your house," Naruko said before Tazuna could begin to guilt-trip them into staying.

"Drop him off or stay with him until the bridge is done," Sakura agreed.

"To stay or not to stay, that is the question," Sasuke said sagely. At the looks he received from his teammates, he shrugged. "What? It's quite fitting."

"Never thought the lone Uchiha would ever make a joke," Naruko shook her head with a smile. Instead of being offended by the statement of "lone Uchiha", Sasuke merely gave her a slight smile.

Kakashi eyed his students, smiling beneath his mask. Naruko was proving to be a good influence on Sasuke and Sakura, as both were coming out of their shells and interacting more. Sasuke grew less focused on revenge in the past week, and Sakura was more confident than she was in the beginning, and was bonding well with Naruko. Neither of the girls hesitated to talk and joke with the Uchiha, who was slowly starting to reciprocate in likeness.

Just then, they exited the fog and arrived on the pier. Tazuna turned to his escorts, and said, "Okay, take me to my home. And I mean get me there in one piece."

"Right," Kakashi acknowledged. 'The next ninja they send won't be Chuunin. They'll be Jonin, elite ninja with deadly skills. Hmm...'

Naruko suddenly threw a kunai into a nearby bush, startling her teammates.

"Naruko, what is it?" Sakura asked tentatively.

The blonde merely narrowed her eyes slightly as she pushed through the bush, and found a rabbit shivering underneath the kunai. "Snow rabbit. But they only have white fur during the winter, when the days are short and there's little sunlight... so this rabbit was raised indoors, away from the light, which could only be for one purpose."

"A replacement technique," Sasuke realized.

"Mm-hm," Naruko nodded. She shifted towards her left, angling her head to look up at the tree near her, blue eyes narrowed further in warning.

'I see you.'

Up in the tree, covered by the leaves, their would-be assailant's eyes widened as he instinctively reached behind him to grab his sword. 'No wonder the Demon Brothers failed in their mission. It's the Copy Ninja from Konoha, Kakashi of the Sharingan. But that girl...'

"Look out!" Kakashi and Naruko cried, the latter tackling Sakura to the ground. Kakashi threw Tazuna to the ground with him, Sasuke immediately dropping.

A sword hurtled overhead, barely missing them. It stuck deep into a tree, and in a blink of an eye a half-naked man wearing cow-print clothing appeared on the handle. He had a Mist forehead protector on sideways, and white bandages covered his mouth.

Naruko's eyes widened a little at the Mist symbol, then her eyes moved to the sword. 'That must be—'

"Well well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi drawled as he took a few steps closer to the tree. "Rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist."

"Rogue ninja..." Sakura breathed, eyes wide.

"Shall we go for it?" Sasuke asked his teammates quietly, body tense as a coiled spring and ready to launch into action at any given moment. "Naruko, Sakura—"

"He's not like those other ninja back there," Naruko murmured, stopping him. "He's in a whole other league. Oh, and I do love the fact that you ask us instead of our sensei."

"Since when does he ever let us do anything fun?" Sasuke muttered unhappily.

Naruko ignored them. 'If he's our opponent, Kaka-nii might need that.'

"Kakashi of the Sharingan," Zabuza growled out, false fascination in his voice. "Did I get that right? It's too bad, huh? But you'll have to hand over the old man."

With a hand on his slanted forehead protector, Kakashi ordered his team, "Manji Formation. Protect the bridge builder."

"Already way ahead of you," Naruko muttered as the team slid into position, kunai at the ready. Sakura and Sasuke cast her a look that said, 'And how would you have known that?' Naruko rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "What? He taught us teamwork, so naturally, it's time to use it."

Kakashi finally lifted his forehead protector, revealing a vertical scar that ran down his left eye. He opened his eyelid, revealing a red eye with three black tomoe; the Sharingan.

"I'm ready."

"Well," Zabuza drawled, "looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action. This is an honour."

Thick mist suddenly crept in, fogging up their eyesight as Zabuza's voice rang out menacingly. "As for you, Jonin, in the assassination unit of the Hidden Mist, we have a standing order to destroy you on sight. Your profile is in our Bingo Book. It called you the Man Who Copied Over A Thousand Ninjutsu: Kakashi, the Copy Ninja."

'Wow, Kakashi-sensei's so famous,' Sakura thought in awe. She never knew her sensei was that known throughout the shinobi world.

'Wait a minute,' Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the Jonin, 'the Sharingan is a dojutsu that only resides in members of the Uchiha clan. My clan. Could he be...?'

"Enough talking," Zabuza crouched down on the sword handle, finally facing his opponents fully. "I need to exterminate the old man. Now." His eye silently assessed all the shinobi in front of him, and a smirk curled his lip. "So, I'll have to eliminate you first, eh Kakashi? So be it."

In a flash the sword and its owner disappeared from the tree and landed on the nearby lake.

"He's over there, standing on the water!" Sakura exclaimed in surprise.

'He's building up a huge amount of chakra,' Kakashi observed.

'Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!' Zabuza held his stare with Kakashi's mismatched eyes, even as the mist thickened even more and concealed each other from view.

"He'll come after me first," Kakashi told his team.

'Zabuza Momochi, leader of the Mist's assassination unit. Or, ex-leader, now,' Naruko thought. 'He's a master of the Silent Killing Technique.'

Kakashi voiced Naruko's inner thoughts, adding, "As the name suggests, it happens in an instant without sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast you pass from this life without realizing what has happened. The Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard."

'You don't have to tell me twice,' Naruko thought as she scanned her surroundings, despite the action being futile due to the thick mist. 'Yagu-nii, this is when your training really starts being useful. Why couldn't you have taught me more... if I die because of this, my death will be on your head!'

"Oh stop being so dramatic, Kit," Kurama rolled his eyes, "as if I would let you die. And besides, Yagura taught you plenty."

'Yeah, except how to fend against the leader of the frickin' assassination unit!' Naruko snapped back. 'And excuse me for being touchy, but Zabuza Momochi is out for our blood.'

"Well, if we fail, we only lose our lives," Kakashi mused nonchalantly.

"How can you say that?" Sakura cried indignantly. Naruko patted her shoulder, and the pinkette shot her a worried look but settled down.

"The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean. The swirling mists are ever-present," Tazuna said as he noticed the mist was getting thicker and thicker. Soon, Kakashi disappeared from their sight, leaving Team 7 and Tazuna vulnerable.

"Eight points," the familiar guttural growl of a certain rogue reached their ears.

'Oh I am so going to murder Yagura and Utakata if they don't show up!' Naruko gritted her teeth.

"Oh don't have a cow," Kurama rolled his eyes. "I'm sure their "brotherly intuition" will kick in sooner or later."

"Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now, which will be my kill point?"

'Well it better be sooner, unless they want an un-happy family reunion!'

"Kit, you are way too dramatic for your own good."

'Says the lazy, oversized pussycat who is known to be a demon and the stuff of nightmares in the outer world.'

"Hey!"

Naruko barely stopped herself from snickering out loud. She then noticed that the mist had been blown away, and Sasuke and Sakura were trembling. She didn't really understand why until she felt a faint trace of Killing Intent flooding the area.

'They call this Killing Intent? Geez, how pathetic,' Naruko internally rolled her eyes.

"Kit, you only think that because I gave you training on how to withstand small portions of my Killing Intent, which no insignificant amount," Kurama rolled his eyes.

'Yes furball, thank you very much,' his host said dismissively.

"Hmph, ungrateful brat..."

Sasuke's eyes shot to the side, where Naruko's eyes were flickering around with a fair amount of boredom. 'How can she be so calm? This is such an intense thirst for blood. One shallow breath, one tiny movement of the eye, is enough to bring about instant death. If it goes on like this, I'll go insane! The clash of two Jonin intent to kill... I've never felt anything so chilling. It's as if my own life is being choked off. No... I can't bear it! I'd rather take my own life!'

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke's eyes widened and he stopped shaking, his head snapping up to meet his sensei, though he never turned from his place in front of his team.

"Calm down. I'll protect you with my life. All of you. I will not allow my comrades to die." He turned to reassure them with his familiar eye-smile, his tone growing a little lighter. "Trust me."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Zabuza taunted, landing between Team 7's Manji Formation. "It's over."