Espada

Outside of Konoha

By sundown, Team 9 won by a single digit.

Kakashi looked at them and Naruto answered, "I still have honor. Besides no one touch another family's treasure. Especially Ichiraku's. Not without war with the Hokage," He knew that the man and his mother would start a 4th Shinobi War to protect the Ichiraku's sacred recipe.

Kakashi nodded, "Bonus for forward thinking. It's a tie,"

Gai sobbed, "SUCH YOUTHFUL REASONING! KAKASHI MY MAN, YOU RAISE EXCEPTIONAL GENIN! I, AS YOUR RIVAL, AM MOST MOVED!!"

Kakashi grimaced at the volume, "Then please move elsewhere,"

The sun set and then rise once more on a new day...

Naruto yawned as he stretched his limbs on the ceiling before starting the day. These past months had been relaxing for him. But Naruto could feel that soon things will pick up again. He looked at Minato as the man evaluated their missions and looked up, "You have done the maximum number of D-ranks for fresh Genin quota. How would you feel about picking a simple C-rank?"

Sasuke looked excitedly at Kakashi, Naruto pondered on this 'simple' mission and Hinata twiddled her thumbs. Kakashi asked, "What kind of C-rank?"

Minato looked at Iruka who had taken the job to man the mission table that day, "Bring him in,"

Iruka left and soon after returned with a man smelling badly of alcohol, "These are the ninja I hired? They all look stupid and that one looked out of place in a country as warm and humid as Hi,"

Minato cleared his throat, controlling his temper. Kakashi hid his temper with a chuckle, "I assure you everything will be fine. If anything happens, I am a Jounin,"

The man snorted, "The name's Tazuna! I am the greatest bridge builder and you will be watching my back for me until the bridge is done!"

Kakashi nodded, "Noted,"

Naruto stared at the man and Tazuna shifted. He studied the man's steady hand and concluded that though he was a heavy drinker, it was a recent development. While he went to his room to prepare, he thought about the matter. Naruto sighed as he left Kushina alone after she bestowed a good luck kiss on his temple.

Something about the man's steady hand and his heavy drinking bug him...

Hinata smiled at him as they crossed paths and Sasuke joined them soon after. The three checked each other's supplies before settling down to wait for Kakashi and their client. Tazuna appeared along with their Jounin Sensei and hiccupped as he stared at them with bloodshot eyes. This time around his hands trembled.

They moved and Hinata used her eyes to look around. Feeling curious about what he read, Naruto asked, "So...does Nami no Kuni not have their own Shinobi force, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi hummed, "Well, there are many countries that don't have their own Shinobi forces. Tetsu no Kuni is the prime example, as you well know," He stressed this out because Naruto's cover for his otherworldly experience was to be raised in Tetsu no Kuni to explain his clothing choice, "And though there are other Hidden Villages out there in the world, such as Onsengakure no Sato that has decided to disband and become a tourist trap, and Nadeshikogakure no Sato is known for their all Kunoichi force, not all of them are as 'official' Konohagakure no Sato,"

He added, "The nations of Hi, Kaze, Tsuchi, Kaminari, and Mizu all have their 'official' Shinobi forces that are equivalent to their military force. Each one of these villages; Konohagakure no Sato, Sunagakure no Sato, Iwagakure no Sato, Kumogakure no Sato, and Kirigakure no Sato are all independent of the Daimyo's control but rely on the Daimyo for continual existence. As acknowledgement by the Daimyo of each nation, every 5 villages are led by a representative known as Kage. The Yondaime is our Hokage, Suna has their Kazekage, Iwa has their Tsuchikage, Kumo is led by their Raikage, and Kiri is ruled by their Mizukage,"