The Legend of Konoha's Shooting Star

Disembark

"Naruto..." Kakashi said as they all stared at him. "It's nice that you took out the poisoned blood so spiritedly, but... any more, and you'll die from lack of blood."

"Seriously, it's gushing out like a fountain!" April said anxiously. "Apply some pressure to it already!!"

"...!!" Naruto gasped, flinching in shock as he visibly paled. "No!!! That's bad!!!" he yelled. "I can't die from something like this!!"

"Let me see your hand," Kakashi said, squatting down in front of his anxious student, while April started pulling medical supplies out of one of her pouches.

"No!!! Save me, Sensei!!!" Naruto yelled, panicking.

"Naruto, are you a masochist? What were you thinking!?" Sakura asked him.

"He clearly wasn't," April stated rather bluntly as she handed Kakashi a roll of bandages, making the younger girl sweat-drop.

"!" April and Kakashi's eyes widened slightly when they realized the wound was actually getting smaller.

'The cut... It's already healing...' Kakashi thought, narrowing his eye.

"Umm... Hey... Am I going to be... okay?" Naruto asked nervously. Why did those two have such serious expressions on their faces...? It was kind of scary...

"You should be fine," Kakashi said calmly as he finished wrapping his hand. 'Must be the power of the nine-tails,' he thought, shooting April a quick look to remind her not to say anything to the others, since he knew she was already aware of the secret from being involved in the incident with Mizuki. She gave him a subtle nod to show she understood.

"... Sensei..." Tazuna said, addressing Kakashi. "I... Have to talk to you. It's about this mission..." That got everyone's attention. "You're right, this  job is most likely outside of your duties. It turns out that a super dangerous man is after my life."

"Super dangerous man?" Kakashi asked.

"..." Tazuna seemed hesitant to answer.

"Who?"

"You've probably at least heard his name before," Tazuna said with a sigh.

"..." Kakashi just stared at him, waiting for him to say it.

"A wealthy shipping magnate... a man named Gatō," Tazuna finally admitted.

"?" April had personally never heard of him, but she could tell this Gatō guy must actually be pretty famous by their sensei's reaction.

"Huh!!?" Kakashi said as his eye widened, obviously surprised by this turn of events. "Gatō... From the Gatō Company? He's one of the richest men in this world."

"Yes," Tazuna replied grimly. "Officially, he runs a large shipping company... but secretly, he sells drugs and other illegal items, using ninjas and gang members to take over other businesses and small countries. He's a very nasty man."

'Oh, great. So on top of enemy ninjas, now we have to worry about the Godfather, too?' April thought, sweat-dropping. She could see where this was going now.

"It was about a year ago when he set his sights on the Land of Waves," Tazuna continued. "Through money and violence, he quickly took control of the country's shipping industry. Gatō now has a monopoly on all business traffic in the country. On an island like the Land of Waves, controlling the sea means the power to rule over the wealth, politics, and people. The only thing he has to fear now is the completion of the bridge."

"I see..." April said with a frown. That explained why Gatō would put a hit on an ordinary guy like Tazuna-san.

"So, you as the one building the bridge... became an obstacle to him," Sakura said thoughtfully, holding her chin.