Kakashi's Disappearing Acts (Kakashi Hatake)

Chapter 18- The Assasin of the Mist

The boat pulled up to a dock. Your eyes widened at the view. There was so much construction going on. It was fascinating. Looked like Naruto felt the same way. "WOAH!" He exclaimed, his face stretching out, "ITS HUGE!"

The man rowing the boat turned to you. "Quiet! Why do you think we are so slow and moving like this? We can't be found!" He scowled. You looked at Tazuna, who simply looked down at the floor of the boat. It was strange. Once he got over his drunk phase, he was just like this. Something was off. After the encounter with the "bandits" you had become a little suspicious. Was this more than a C rank?

"Mr. Tazuna," Kakashi's voice rang out behind you, "Before we reach the shore, I would like to ask you something." Now or never. "Me, too." You blurted out. Tazuna looked at the floor with a blank expression. "There are men after you, and I need to know why." Kakashi firmly stated. "If you don't tell us, we will have to end this mission once we reach the shore." Kakashi sure was firm and straightforward. That was for the best, but it pained you a little. Tazuna seemed like he just wanted the best for his village. But what if Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's lives were in danger?

The boat pulled up. "I have no choice but to tell you." Tazuna stated, sadness swelling in his eyes. "Like you said...this is beyond the scope of the original mission." You knew it. It all became clear. "The one who seeks me has a long and deadly shadow." "Deadly shadow?" Kakashi questioned, "Hm. Who is it?" Tazuna narrowed his eyes. "You know him. At least, you've heard his name before. He's very wealthy. The shipping magnet Gato." Kakashi looked startled. "Gato? Of Gato transport? He's a business leader. Everyone knows him." That was true. Naruto poked his head closer to the conversation from the back. "Who? Who? What?" He exclaimed. And so Tazuna began to explain about Gato, about how is business was very corrupt and power seeking. Apparently, Gato didn't want the bridge to be built because it would make hamper him. So...he sent out ninjas to stop the building of the bridge.

"So...since your the bridge builder, your standing in this gangster's way, huh?" Sakura said, thumb on her chin. "That means...those guys we fought in the forest, were working for Gato," Sasuke claimed. He was right. But why did he say it was a C rank? Just as you thought that, Kakashi asked Tazuna a similar question.

"I don't understand. If you knew he was dangerous, knew he'd send ninja to eliminate you, why did you hide that from us?" He asked. Tazuna quickly answered, "because the Land of Waves is a small, impoverished nation." That was it. He couldn't afford to pay for a higher rank mission, so he had to request a C rank and go from there. In this case, we would have to abort the mission. But you couldn't. They needed your help. If you left...you wouldn't be acting like real ninja. You wouldn't act like a proper kunoichi. So that was that. The mission carried on. And you were happy. After all, you had been aching for a proper, harder, more challenging mission. Maybe you could finally prove to your teammates, and Kakashi especially, that you were more than what you looked to be.

You stepped onto the dock, followed by your teammates. You hoped that the next ninja wouldn't be Jonin. But it was in vain. You were sure that if this Gato guy really wanted to stop you guys, he would send Jonin, no less.

You saw Naruto marching in front, of course. Sasuke pulled up next to him. What was that supposed to mean? He walked next to him, without saying a word, just a complacent smile on his face. You smirked. Naruto scowled at Sasuke. You could tell what he was thinking: "I'm not letting Sasuke get all the glory!" Maybe Naruto thought that Sasuke was just trying to "steal" the "glory" from him, but in reality, Sasuke really cared about Naruto. Naruto ran forward, grabbed a kunai, and yelled, "Over there!" And threw the Kunai at a bush. You froze, along with everybody else in the team. God. Naruto...What are you thinking? "Oh, haha, just a mouse," Naruto giggled. "A MOUSE? Everybody can see through your stupid act!" Sakura yelled at him, "Your so obvious, it's embarrassing!" Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, those are kunai knives. They are dangerous." Then Tazuna had his little outburst. The trip went a lot like that, until Naruto finally hit a rabbit. It was white, completely. Looking closer, you noticed it was a snow rabbit. You pursed your lips. Snow rabbits weren't supposed to be here...Looking at Kakashi, he felt the same way. But you couldn't really tell how it had got there.