Puppeteer

Land of the Waves and Wanted Ninja

When it was finally time for them to leave - they'd been held up by Kakashi being late... Again, it was already about midday and Tazuna was beginning to get quite twitchy.

"Alright! Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly the moment he'd stepped out of the village. "I've never been out of the village before!"

"Hey, will kids like this really be capable of this mission?" he asked as Naruto looked around goofily, Kiba and Akamaru bouncing over to join him in his excitement. Both boys tensed up angrily upon his words. "I, a jounin, will be accompanying you. There's no need to worry."

The two boys suddenly then span around, completely in sync, "Hey, geezer, don't underestimate ninjas! I'm a great ninja! I'm the elite ninja who will receive the title of Hokage one day. The name is Naruto Uzumaki /Kiba Inuzuka! Remember it!" It was at that moment that Sakura appeared behind the two boys. "Idiots," she muttered as she slammed a closed fist on each of their heads causing them to slam into the ground, small cracks forming where their heads were.

"Hokage is the village's number one ninja, right? I don't think a guy like either of you can become one." Tazuna said as he peered over the lid of his Sake bottle. The two boys glared as they looked at him, fists clenched, "Shut up! I'm willing to go through any hardship to become a Hokage! If I become a Hokage, you'll have to take notice of me!"

"I won't kid. That is, even if you become Hokage." the man said as his eyes ran over both boys. The two instantly irritated as they swung their fists at the man, Sakura and Kakashi catching one each, "I'm going to kill you!"

It didn't take more than an hour for the group to come across their first foes, found in the form of a puddle. The first one to fall being none other than the great jounin, Kakashi Hatake. The moment he was shredded to pieces by the two enemy ninjas, the trio jumped into action. Kiba feeding Akamaru a soldier pill, Sakura shoving Naruto towards Tazuna, if he went down, it was all over. The pink-haired girl then raced forwards to join Kiba, blood smearing across her fingers as she summoned a puppet.

Smoke appeared on the floor in front of the pair before a small wooden dragon revealed itself. Kiba looked towards Sakura, a silent conversation going on through their eyes before they jumped into action. The dragon lifting its body off of the floor under Sakura's command as Kiba and Akamaru moved to protect the now vulnerable Sakura. The dragon's joints clicking eerily as it moved towards the ninjas, jaw unhinging to reveal a seal at the back. They didn't even have time to move. Fire shot from the dragon's muzzle, much more powerful than the original flames that the girl had used. The ninjas' chains turning soft under the heat of the fire causing them to disconnect and replace themselves with wooden logs. Sakura's keen eyes seeking them out before she let out a small stream of chakra to probe around for them. Smirking as she felt one of their chakra, dragon lunging behind her just as the ninja leapt at them. Everyone watched in horror as the dragon latched onto the ninja, his skin paling rapidly as his chakra levels rapidly fell and Sakura's climbed, the chakra strings no longer draining her. The ninja dropped out of the floor causing his comrade to race towards him. Sakura pulled her dragon back, sending it back to its seal. Kakashi dropped out of the tree next to the girl, the look on his face one of curiosity, he had the feeling she was not who he first thought. Shaking off the bad feeling, he turned to Tazuna instead. "By the way Tazuna..."

"W-what is it?" The man asked as he spun to look at Kakashi, who was carefully tying up the still conscious ninja. "I need to talk to you."

After receiving not one but two lectures, Tazuna and Team Seven found themselves saying goodbye to the boatsman who was quick to flee. Rolling her eyes, Sakura quickly picked up her pace, jogging to catch up with the rest of her group. A friendly conversation starting amongst both herself and her companions that were her age.

But their light-hearted attitude did not last as long as they might have wished. Naruto quickly running ahead and throwing a kunai into the bushes, "There!" he exclaimed, causing almost everyone in the group to jump in surprise.  "Oh, it was just a mouse." he spoke calmly causing everyone in the group to yell at him, "Wait, I saw someone there. No, is he over here? There!" he shouted before flinging yet another kunai into the bushes, this time in the other direction. Kakashi, however, wandered over to the bushes, ignoring the fight between Kiba and Naruto about how the blonde was 'showing off'. The group then approached the spot in which Naruto had targetted. To find a frightened white rabbit lying against the tree, head just beneath the kunai. "Sorry rabbit!" Naruto cried as he hugged the rodent to his chest. "Everyone, duck!" Kakashi shouted, just in time as well as seconds later, a large sword flew through the clearing and had they not have ducked, their heads would have been cleaved clean off.  A man then appeared on the weapon which had lodged itself into a nearby tree. "Oh, my, my, your are Momochi Zabuza, the exiled ninja of the Hidden Village of Mist." Kakashi said as he approached the man. Naruto ran forwards to attack, only to find himself blocked by Kakashi's arm, "You're in the way. Stay back, everyone."

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi the Sharingan user. I'm sorry, but I'll need you to hand over the geezer." Kakashi held his hand against the headband which covered his eye before giving the next instruction, "Everyone, in the manji formation. Protect Tazuna. Don't join the battle. To not interfere with the battle is teamwork." He then lifted the band to reveal his very own Sharingan.