At eight thirty in the morning, Kakashi glanced at his watch, looking a little annoyed. Nanfeng had already arrived at the designated meeting place, but Naruto and Sasuke were nowhere to be seen!
"Should I go look for them?" Nanfeng asked, unable to resist as Kakashi's mood grew darker by the minute.
"Forget it. They probably didn't sleep well last night because it's their first time leaving the village... Oh? There they are." Kakashi looked into the distance and spotted three figures hurrying toward them!
"You really kept us waiting, huh? And, wait, why is Hinata here too?" Kakashi asked, puzzled as he watched Hinata following behind Naruto and Sasuke.
"I came to see Brother Nanfeng off... Since this mission might take a few days, I made him... some bento and brought it over..." Hinata said, her face bright red as she took a neatly prepared lunchbox from her backpack and placed it in Nanfeng's hands.
"Hey, your little girlfriend sure is thoughtful!" Tazuna said with a laugh when he saw this.
The teasing quickly became too much for Hinata. She hurriedly whispered "Be careful on the road" in Nanfeng's ear, then fled through Konoha's gates as if running away.
"So, how far have things gone between you and the Hyuga Clan heiress? When you go to ask for her hand, I could come with you," Kakashi said, giving Nanfeng a knowing look.
"Thanks for the offer, Kakashi-sensei. I'll handle that myself," Nanfeng replied with a smile. His answer was as good as admitting there was something going on between him and Hinata.
After that, Nanfeng began to ponder. He hadn't actually confessed to Hinata yet. Maybe he should do it when he got back?
"Let's go! Time for our first mission outside the village!" As Nanfeng's thoughts wandered, Naruto had already strode toward the village gates, full of confidence.
Along the way, the kids acted as if they'd never seen the world beyond the village, curious about nearly everything. As they chatted, they also got a general idea of their mission destination, the Land of Waves.
"Old man, what kind of place is the Land of Waves? I heard it doesn't have a ninja village," Naruto asked, puzzled as he looked over the mission scroll.
"That's right. Apart from the Five Great Nations, few of the smaller countries have their own ninja villages. The Land of Waves does have ninja, but they're usually outsiders. Most people there work as Mercenary Samurai or do similar jobs." Tazuna shook his head sadly as he spoke.
"Mercenary Samurai? Why don't the ninja take missions?" Naruto asked, a little confused.
"The price is too high. The cost of a mission isn't as simple as you think. People in Konoha hire ninja for so many jobs because their income and living standards are much higher than those of people in places like ours. Maybe Konoha protected you too well, so you think that wherever you go, there'll always be ninja ready to help people with their missions..." Nanfeng answered.
"Exactly. It costs too much... Paying you to escort me has already emptied my savings. But once I'm back in the Land of Waves, all we need to do is finish building the bridge and open a trade route to the Land of Fire. Then the people of the Land of Waves will be able to improve their lives."
When he mentioned the bridge, Tazuna's eyes shone with hope.
It was another country's business, so the four Konoha ninja didn't have much to say. Still, their conversation helped them get to know one another, and the journey wasn't too boring.
But when they passed a small pond, everyone except Tazuna instantly grew alert. Kakashi noticed and nodded to himself.
They were worthy of being his students. Their battle instincts were sharper than those of some Chunin he'd met!
The group continued onward without saying a word. As soon as they passed the pond, two figures sprang out of the water. They held Rope Blades, which they quickly wrapped around Kakashi, who was walking at the front.
With a sharp tug, the blades sliced Kakashi's body into three pieces. Tazuna went deathly pale at the sight.
"First one!" The two ninja grinned cruelly. They ignored the three Genin, who stood frozen in place, and turned their attention to Tazuna behind them!
"Target confirmed. Begin the cleanup." The two men rushed toward Tazuna. Seeing them charge, he closed his eyes in despair.
"Looks like this mission just got a little more difficult!" The pain Tazuna had expected never came. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw the two assassins bound by Steel Wire that had appeared from nowhere. He couldn't help feeling confused.
"According to the mission guidelines, a C-rank mission shouldn't involve fighting between ninja. Given the situation, shouldn't you explain yourself, Mr. Tazuna?" Sasuke said, looking bored as he watched the two men bound up.
What a pathetic opponent. Fighting Naruto had been more fun!
"That's right. A change in the mission's rank is a real headache for us, too. It's clear now that you're their target. Please explain what's going on," Kakashi said, pulling down his mask to cover his scarlet Sharingan.
He'd just used the Sharingan's Genjutsu to interrogate the two fools.
"I just don't have the money. But I needed ninja to get back to the Land of Waves, so I had no choice but to post a C-rank mission..." Tazuna said in despair.
"Forget it. We're already here, so let's finish the mission. If this is the sort of opponent a C-rank mission brings, they shouldn't pose much of a threat to us." Nanfeng walked over to the two poor wretches, sprinkling white powder over the skin they had exposed as he spoke.
"If Nanfeng says so... then we'll continue the mission." Kakashi nodded, showing his confidence in the team's abilities.
There was another reason, though: he didn't want to suffer the torment of that strange drug again. The way those two poor wretches were reacting said it all...
Before you continue