Happier Than Ever: A Naruto Uzumaki Love Story

Chapter Twelve: The First Mission

*NARUTO*

"You're a princess?!" Sakura exclaimed alongside Naruto. Kazuna rolled her eyes at both of them, folding her arms over her chest.

"It's nothing like that. My father was simply the head of the Noroi clan. I'm no princess," Kazuna protested.

"Oh, you're just being modest! You're practically royalty being the heir to the Noroi clan!" Sakura said.

"How do you even know this?" Kazuna frowned, her cheeks slowly turning a dusty pink.

"We did a bit of research after we left your training yesterday," Kakashi-sensei chimed in. "I've got to say, Kazuna, I'm quite impressed with your track record. You were on track to becoming an ANBU at only age 14? That's no easy feat."

"The Noroi endure tumultuous training at the very beginning of their shinobi career. Being the heir to the clan, I was trained strictly and very diligently," Kazuna said, a distant and empty feeling to her words as she turned away from the group, overlooking the village from the roof of the Hokage's office. "Where is the Hokage with our mission? She's late," she said, diverting the conversation away from herself. Again. Just like the night before.

Naruto was tempted to ask about Ryuzu, but knew he wouldn't get much of an answer from her with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei around. He wanted to know more about her and, maybe, in the process, find out more about himself and Kurama.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Granny Tsunade's voice emanated from the ramp leading up to the rooftop behind them. She carried a thin folder in her hand as she approached them.

"About time," Kazuna huffed impatiently, earning a scowl from Granny.

"Your mission today is simple, albeit quite grim. It may take the entire day, but if you hurry, you could be home before midnight," Granny stated, "I need you four to head over to a neighboring village and collect the bodies of three of our men who were killed last night."

"Just last night? Do we know what happened?" Sakura asked.

"Not entirely. We have a reason to believe an intruder has been impersonating and targeting men from our village. They gather information on a specific target and kill them on their way home from assignments. The missions we send them on are typically completed before they're attacked and murdered. We lost three more last night – Ishiiki Fudo, Toharu Tokka, and Mibari Yotsugaharu." She opened the folder to show them photos of the three shinobi – two men and one woman.

"So, this isn't the first time it's happened? Do you think it's the same person every time? Or are there multiple suspects?"

"From what we can tell, there's only one person and they kill the same way every time. Each victim is incapacitated and then stabbed, presumably with a katana. Your job is to bring the bodies back. Nothing more, nothing less. And be careful. We aren't completely sure about who they're targeting. There's no correlation between all the men we've lost to this person so far."

"Were there any survivors among the group?" Sakura asked. "Maybe they saw something?"

"There was one, but they were knocked out before the assault happened, he doesn't recall anything beforehand," Granny admitted.

"How many people have been killed so far?" Kazuna asked.

"A total of 35 people. We're hoping to stop that number from getting any bigger," Kakashi-sensei answered this time. "We'll have to be careful while we're outside the village. We don't know on what basis in which they're taking our men out. Any one of us could be a target"

"The village they're being kept in are allies of Konoha. They have everything ready for you. Go, bring the bodies home, and someone will be here to greet you at the East gates. They'll have autopsies done before the funeral this Saturday. Here's your map. Please, be safe. We'll continue our investigation on who could be doing this," Tsunade said before closing the folder and handing Kakashi-sensei a map. "Get going. The sooner you bring them home, the better."