True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 7// C-Rank: Journey To Tenchi Bridge

"HELL YEAH! FINALLY!" Naruto cheered loudly in excitement.

"Oh, this'll be exciting. I always love traveling, especially with company!" Yen stated, nearly as excited as the boy next to him.

The two blondes hurried off outside the gates of Konoha, heading towards their mission. Hinata, Shikamaru, and Anko watched the two speed off in silence. Anko was the one to break the silence with a sigh.

"I forgot what it's like to deal with clients like this. Kill me now." She grumbled to herself as she started to walk off. Her two genin started to follow her.

"He s-seems nice though..." Hinata noted, quietly.

"Oh he is: he's very polite. But he doesn't shut up. I've only known him since yesterday afternoon and I've already heard his voice too much!" Anko complained.

"Just what we need: another loud-mouth blonde." Shikamaru noted with a sigh, slightly joking and slightly serious.

When the three Konoha shinobi made their way out of the gates, they noticed that Naruto and Yen were standing off to the side of the road. Naruto was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly while Yen was looking down in embarrassment.

"Forgive me, Konoha shinobi. In my haste to leave, I had forgotten to check a map on which way Kusa no Kuni is." The merchant informed them sadly.

"Yeah...um...what way we are going?" Naruto asked, voicing his and the merchant's concerns.

Hinata sweat dropped, Shikamaru gave off a sigh, and Anko face palmed.

'That's another thing wrong with the client: he's impulsive and scatterbrained. Just like another blonde I'm in charge of...' Anko moaned inwardly.

"...just follow me." The purple haired woman informed everyone present as she started off on the path towards Kusa no Kuni.

The three genin and the merchant nodded in response and followed behind. Team Three's first C-Rank mission had now officially begun!

An hour had passed since Team Three had left the gates of Konoha. They were currently on the road to reach Kusa no Kuni. According to Anko's map and memory, they should reach Kusa no Kuni on their third or fourth day, depending on their speed, and reach the Tenchi bridge one day later.

The tokubetsu jonin was currently conversing with Yen. The woman did not seem to happy to be talking to him and answering all of his questions, but she was making an effort to be polite and respond to them.

The two adults reached a conclusion to their conversation. Hinata decided to take this time to get to know her client.

"S-So Yen-San, did you enjoy Hi no Kuni while you were here?" She asked the merchant.

"I did indeed, Hinata-Sama. Your country is very beautiful." Yen complimented with a smile.

Hinata was about to respond, further questioning about his time here, but was cut off by the loud voice of her crush.

"Hey, Yen-San, why do you add sama to our names? I mean...you're our client. You shouldn't really be calling us that...not that I mind or anything!" Naruto asked, rushing his last statement in hopes of not offending. He was just simply confused.

"On the contrary, you all deserve the title, Naruto-Sama. After all, you are shinobi!" The merchant informed him as if it was a simple concept. "Sure, I'm paying you all and you're working for me, but you are protecting me! You all have the power to do that, something I don't have. That's what makes you worthy of that title! You are all stronger than me and are protecting me."