Behind the Waterfall

#39 Old Friends

The masks were uncomfortable, but necessary. The group of four silently walked through the village, each of them on edge, always a hand on their weapons.

"Hawk!" She was brought out of her thoughts by her leader's voice. Lion was looking at her with serious eyes.

"Focus. You are sure that this is him?" The black haired man asked, referring to the piece of paper he had in his hand.

"Yes, I am sure." They had seen the open contract in Sunagakure when they were delivering some scrolls to a wealthy merchant. She had immediately recognized the name and drawing. After the whole incident in Konoha, where Naruto's identity as Wolf as well as his heritage had been revealed to the public, they all knew about him and Fuu. She had been the only one in the group that knew about his real name before that, just like Naruto was the only one that knew about hers, but they all knew his real appearance, so they would have recognized the drawing rather quickly regardless. The others, especially Lion, were still mad that he had left them without a word. Hawk not having told them that she knew why he had left. She had told them that he left while she was asleep. It didn't feel right lying to her friends and partners, but she didn't want to admit to them that Naruto wanted to save that other girl more than stay with her. Maybe she also didn't want to admit it to herself.

"I have a contact in Janpugakure, he reached out to me, saying that he has seen a pair of rogue shinobi escorting a group of traders. One of them was wearing a wolf mask. He also seems to match the description of Wolf." Rhino stated skimming the scroll he had gotten from a small hawk.

"It's the first real lead since Konoha, let's go." Lion exclaimed.

"What's our plan?" Cat asked, as the group walked towards the gates.

"If he is still with that Fuu girl, we need to separate them. Then we can subdue them and get the reward. I don't think that either of them will be able to match two of us." The masked leader replied, as they walked out of the village.

"I don't know if that would be wise. We never really saw Wolf fight. If his extended use of shadow clones is anything to go by, he is extremely dangerous. Together with his heritage and his knowledge of the Hiraishin, he is not to be taken lightly. Also we don't know anything about the girl he is traveling with." Hawk reasoned, trying to get the other three to reconsider. She didn't bring up the fact that Naruto and Fuu both were Jinchuuriki, as far as she knew she was the only person to know that. It would persuade the others to make a huge curve around the two targeted shinobi, but she also wanted to see Naruto again. It wasn't rational, Hawk knew that, but the evening when he had left her wouldn't leave her mind. She was convinced that they didn't stand a chance against either of them, much less if they split up to deal with them separately. Her only hope was that Naruto and Fuu would show them mercy should they decide to really attack.

"That is why me and Rhino will take him, while you and Cat will keep the girl occupied. My speed and Rhino's raw strength should be enough to overpower Wolf. Honestly I think that he can't use the hiraishin in real combat, we would have heard if there was someone out there that managed to make the jutsu viable again." The leader explained, earning a confident nod from the other man in the group.

Hawk didn't push further, deciding to try and convince them after they had a bit of time to think about her words, although she feared that it would not do any good. Sighing, she jumped into the trees behind her friends, as they started their journey towards Janpugakure.

"They came here a few days ago. I am confident that they have not left yet, I asked the other guards to be on the lookout as well." The brown haired guard said after Rhino had asked him about the message he had sent him.

"That is good. Great work." Lion cut into the conversation, handing the man a small envelope.

"I hope we can continue to rely on you." The leader continued. Turning to his group, the black haired man sighed briefly.