Sasuke's twin sister, But Neji's first love

A Dangerous Mission!! A Journey To The Land Of Waves!! Part 1

"Ryuko, I'm at Point A."

"Sasuke, I'm at Point B."

"Sakura, Point C."

"...Naruto, I'm at Point D—believe it!"

"You're too slow, Naruto," Kakashi said through the earpiece, his voice calm as ever.

"Okay, Squad Seven... the target has moved. Follow it."

We began moving quietly, all of us hiding behind the trees.

"Over there," Naruto surprisingly whispered.

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

"Five meters. I'm ready—just give the signal," Naruto replied.

"I'm ready too," Sasuke said.

"Same here," Sakura followed.

"So am I," I said. "Just give the signal."

"Okay... now!!"

We all darted out from our positions, aiming to capture our target. Naruto reached it first—but the cat wasn't pleased.

"I got him! I got him!" he shouted, clutching the squirming animal.

The cat hissed violently and began clawing and scratching his face.

"Red ribbon on the ear?" Kakashi asked over the earpiece.

"Affirmative," Sasuke confirmed.

"Naruto, you idiot, you're scaring it," I scolded, snatching the cat gently from his arms and petting its head. It immediately calmed down in my hands.

"Right. Lost pet Tora, captured. Mission accomplished," Kakashi finalized.

"CAN'T WE GET BETTER MISSIONS THAN THIS?! I HATE CATS!!" Naruto screamed into the earpiece.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura yelled, her voice blasting through my earpiece. I groaned and took it off, rubbing my ear while Sasuke and I glared at the two of them.

"Don't be hypocrites. You're both idiots," I muttered, still glaring.

[Time Skip – Hokage's Office]

A woman burst in, snatching Tora from my arms.

"Ohhh! My poor little Tora!! Mommy was so worried! My little fuzzykins!" she squealed, squeezing the cat tightly.

"Hahaha! Stupid cat deserves to be squashed," Naruto laughed.

I leaned toward Sasuke and whispered, "No wonder it ran away."

"Hn," he agreed.

"Now, for Squad 7," the Third Hokage began. "We have seven available tasks. One: babysitting the councilor's three-year-old. Two: helping the councilor's wife with shopping. Three: digging up potatoes—"

"Nooo!!" Naruto cut him off, dramatically crossing his arms in an X in front of his chest. "I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging! Not some kid stuff! Come on, old man!"

'He's got a point,' Sasuke thought.

'He's not wrong,' I silently agreed.

'He's such a pain,' Sakura grumbled mentally, annoyed.

'Ugh. I knew this was coming,' Kakashi sighed inwardly.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Iruka exploded. "YOU'RE JUST A BRAND NEW GENIN WITH NO EXPERIENCE! LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, YOU START WITH SIMPLE MISSIONS AND DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS UNTIL YOU PROVE YOURSELVES!"

"Are you serious?! Babysitting is not a mission—it's a chore!" Naruto groaned.

WHACK

Kakashi's hand smacked down on Naruto's head.

"Would you put a lid on it?" Kakashi muttered.

"Naruto..." the Hokage began, ignoring Naruto's exaggerated whimpering, "...it seems you do not understand the tasks you've been given. Requests vary—from babysitting to assassination. They are carefully ranked from D to A-class. We ninja are ranked similarly—Genin, Chunin, Jonin, and so on. If a mission succeeds, we receive payment. Since you are Genin, you are only eligible for D-rank missions."

"Miso or pork today...?" Naruto mumbled, completely zoning out.

"SILENCE!" the Hokage barked.

We all flinched and turned toward him, realizing too late we'd been paying more attention to Naruto than our village leader.

"Oh. Sorry," Kakashi said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm not the little kid who used to pull pranks anymore! I'm a ninja now, and I want a real mission!"

"Hmph. I'll be hearing about this later," Kakashi muttered.

The Hokage sighed deeply. "...So be it. I'm assigning you a C-rank mission. You'll act as bodyguards on a journey."

"Really?! YES!!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air. "Who are we protecting? A princess? A feudal lord?"

"Be patient. I'll call him in now. Send in our visitor."

We turned toward the door, anticipation buzzing in the air. The door slid open... and in stumbled a drunken old man.

"A bunch of little snot-nosed brats," the man slurred, taking a swig from his sake bottle.

Then he pointed. "And you—the little one with the idiotic look on your face. You expect me to believe you're a ninja?"

"Ha?! Who's the little one with the idiotic face?!" Naruto shouted. We quickly lined up. Sasuke was the tallest, Sakura and I were about the same height, and Naruto... was clearly the shortest.

"I'll demolish you, old man!" Naruto lunged forward, but Kakashi casually held him back with one hand.

"We're supposed to protect our client, not demolish him," Kakashi said flatly.

"I'm Tazuna. Master bridge builder," the man introduced. "You'll travel with me to the Land of Waves. I expect you to risk your lives for me if necessary."

After the formalities, we were dismissed to prepare. I packed clothes, weapons, and a few snacks. Once Sasuke and I were ready, we headed to the main gate to meet the rest of the team.