"Sorry for not coming sooner i didn't think anyone would be hurt." Kakashi sensei said shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly having tied the two ninja to a tree with some rope, "Good job Sasuke Sakura and Nameki." Sasuke smirked at Naruto "Hey are you hurt?" he paused before continuing "Scaredy cat." Naruto shouted in his rage and i silently sympathized with him, I had barely been able to do anything but i was praised. "Naruto! The claws on these ninjas gloves have poison that needs taken out right away. We have to open the wound and leech out the poisoned blood don't move much or it will spread throughout your system." Kakashi paused and turned his head "By the way Tazuna." "Wh-what is It." stammered the bridge builder. "We need to talk."
"These guys are chuunin class ninja from the village hidden in the mist, this particular type of ninja is known to keep fighting no matter what the cost." Kakashi explained "How were you able to detect our presence." One of the ninja asked a confused look on his face. Kakashi scoffed before replying "A puddle on a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks, it was obvious." "If you knew that then why did you let the children fight?" Tazuna questioned voicing what i was already thinking. "I could have killed them swiftly but then I never would have learned who their target was. Ninja attacking ninja or targeting you. Your request was to protect you from the standard thieves and armed individuals not any ninja. This fact puts the mission at A or B rank. I'm sure you have your reasons but lying is not acceptable." Kakashi sensei explained.
"This mission is out of our league. Let's quit. We need anesthetic for Naruto's wound anyhow. We need to head back and see a doctor" Sakura spoke up about her concerns and i agreed with her, If naruto lost a lot of blood it could be bad. "Sakura is right we need to head back and heal Naruto." Kakashi sensei agreed. I turned to face Naruto not expecting him to protest but instead he stabbed a kunai through his injured hand with a grunt. I gasped in shock feeling slightly ill at the thought of what he had just done. "I worked so hard to get here, pushing myself until it hurt, training alone for hours, anything to get stronger, to reach my dream. I will never back down again. Upon this wound i make this pledge, believe it! I will protect you bridge builder with this kunai." I felt strangely proud of Naruto at that moment. "Naruto its cool how you got rid of the poison, but you'll die if you lose any more blood." Kakashi said suddenly appearing behind Naruto "Seriously you should stop now."
-------------------------------------------------
We were on a boat on our way to Tazuna's home. I sighed and closed my eyes letting the movement of the boat relax me for a few moments. I opened my eyes and squinted into the distance hoping to see through the mist. "The mist is so thick I can't see what's ahead" Sakura whispered to me. I nodded in agreement tucking some loose hair behind my ears. Suddenly the man who was rowing the boat spoke up "We should be able to see the bridge soon, then if we follow it we'll reach the land of the waves." He whispered. I looked up to see the large outline of the half finished bridge looming above us. "Wow it's huge!" Naruto exclaimed "hey be quiet were not using the engine and hiding in the mist for a reason. In other words if we get caught we're in big trouble, so shush." The row man whispered urgently.
I turned to Naruto silently laughing as I noticed him holding his breath in an attempt to heed the rowing mans orders."Tazuna" Kakashi sensei began "Before we reach the pier I have a few questions. I want to know the name of who's after you and why otherwise we can call off the mission when we reach the shore." We all looked towards the bridge builder expectantly. "I guess I have to tell you the truth. No I'll tell you because I want to. As you said this is out of your job description. Someone extremely powerful is after my life." Tazuna was interrupted by Kakashi sensei. "An extremely powerful man?" Tazuna nodded. "Who?" Kakashi questioned. "You must have heard of him or at least his name Gatoh." Tazuna whispered.
"Gatoh of the Gatoh industries? He's one of the richest men in the world" Kakashi sensei asked shock eminent in what little was visible of his face. "Who is that?" Naruto asked "On the outside he is the head of a company, but behind the scenes hiding in the shadows he smuggles contraband and the like using gangs and ninja to gain the upper hand to take over other lands and companies." Tazuna paused "About a year ago he set his sights on the country of the wave. He forced his way in using power and wealth as a shield to our suspicions; he took over the islands sea traffic and transportation. On a small island such as this controlling that one thing gives you power over everything. The only thing he fears is what can stop him, the completion of the bridge." Tazuna explained.
"So with you being the bridge builder you're a major obstacle to him." Sakura said, "Which means those men were sent by this Gatoh." Sasuke concluded. I nodded thoughtfully agreeing with their statements. Kakashi seemed to ponder over these statements before Tazuna spoke up again "There's no need for you to blame yourselves, only my grandson will cry, and my daughter will hate ninja from Konoha all her life and hold a large grudge for the rest of her lonely life. But it's not your fault." Tazuna said cheerily a fake smile on his face. Slowly but surely we all caved into his guilt trip. "Well if you put it that way I guess we have no choice but to continue escorting you." Kakashi sensei said.
We soon after entered a small tunnel that I presumed led to our island destination. It was quiet and I felt restless until we emerged from the tunnel and out into the open again. It was beautiful here, the mist from before had cleared and I could see the trees growing out of the water and the fish below us. Soon enough we got off of the boat and the man sped away engine roaring making me question the reason we were quiet in the first place. We continued to walk along a forested path Naruto and Sasuke discreetly trying to outdo each other, until eventually Sakura got fed up with Naruto.
"Naruto that's enough I told you to stop!" she yelled as he threw yet another weapon of towards some imaginary sound in the bushes. "Stop scaring us you little dwarf." Tazuna chastised as we all walked forwards towards his kunai. When we got there we found a petrified rabbit. I was going to see if it was alright but Naruto beat me to it beginning to coddle the small creature. Soon enough Kakashi sensei arrived and began scolding Naruto before suddenly pausing. "Everyone duck!" I hit the floor just as a large sword came spinning towards the tree above me lodging itself in the bark. The sword stayed there for a moment before a man appeared on it facing away from us. I got up shakily reaching into my pouch for a kunai. I wouldn't freeze up this time i would fight.
