Sasuke stared at the body on the floor. 'At least I learned something...' He thought as he glanced at the runes shown in the corner of his view. 'Killing people here gives me nothing in return.' Turning around, he walked to the group.
"They seem like ninjas from the Hidden Mist." Kakashi spoke, turning to Tazuna. "Would you maybe enlighten us on why two Chunin ninjas were waiting here?" He asked, but it didn't sound much like a question.
"What..?" Tazuna stepped back a bit, his hands raised in surrender. "How would I know?" He questioned back. Only to be met with silent stares. "I'm serious... Alright!" He yelled out the last word and lowered his head, a defeated look spread across his face. "I had my own circumstances!" He defended and Kakashi stepped forward, his eye narrowed.
"We are now operating outside of our duties." Kakashi's voice was grave. "With ninjas after you, the mission could be set as B-rank... Why hide the fact?" He asked as he walked to Naruto and gave the boy some balm for his bleeding nose.
Tazuna looked to the floor. "The Wave country is extremely poor." He started. "Not even the feudal lord has any money... So we couldn't afford a mission higher than C-Rank..." His shoulders slumped before he smiled sadly. "But it's fine... You guys can quit the mission... I'm sure my 10 year old grandson won't cry too long."
Kakashi deadpanned at his words before sighing and glancing at his three Genin. "How do you guys feel about this?" He asked and the first to respond was Naruto.
"I don't care if it's another Kage! I'll beat them up to protect our client!" He declared loudly, a smirk on his face.
Kakashi glanced at the remaining two Genin, with Sasuke nodding and Sakura saying something in the lines of 'If Sasuke does it I will too.' So he turned back to Tazuna and spoke. "The we will continue the mission, but we will need you to tell us the truth." His voice, serious and devoid of friendliness, left no room for discussion.
"Alright..." Tazuna nodded, smiling at Naruto for a bit before he started telling them about Gatou and how he'd took control of the Wave's shipping industry, building his own gang in the meantime. And with the wealth Gatou has, he had most likely hired a bunch of ninjas.
"So..." Sakura spoke up, having heard the story. "You building a bridge has made him restless since when you finish, he won't have much hold on the Wave's trading..." She spoke, her eyes thoughtful as Tazuna nodded.
"Yes, that's right." He confirmed.
"Don't worry!" Naruto jumped, striking a thumbs-up in Tazuna's direction. "We'll protect you until you finish the bridge! Believe it!"
Kakashi stood to the side and gazed up to the sky. "Let's get a move on. We're wasting time." He commanded, his tone reverted back to it's usual laziness.
---
"We're almost there." The man rowing the boat spoke as the group looked around. "Just in case, we'll take a course with heavy vegetation to avoid being discovered." The man explained as he turned the boat's direction slightly to the right and went through a tunnel underneath a bridge.
"So this is the Wave country..." Sasuke muttered, looking around at the different wooden houses. 'It does seem poor...' He thought, seeing the wooden houses have holes in, or the wood being rotted somewhere.
"We've arrived." The man in the front spoke as the boat slowly stopped next to a fickle pier. "Move quickly, I need to go." he turned and faced the group, sounding a bit anxious, in fear of being spotted.
Nodding, Kakashi took lead and stepped onto the pier first, followed by the rest while looking around cautiously.
"Wow..." Naruto let out as his gaze swept around him. Turning to Kakashi, he asked. "Is this how life is outside of the Village?"
Hearing him, Kakashi didn't turn around and only shook his head. "No. This is an extreme version of a poor country." Kakashi explained. "Most Villages have developed land and building, while the major Villages, including the Leaf, stands above the rest."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's words. "So is the Leaf like super strong?!" He asked, already excited at the thought.
Glancing at the blonde, Kakashi took a second to think. "Hmm..." He hummed and shook his head. "In the past, I would've said yes, but right now we have the same strength as the other major Villages. Which is strong, but there isn't really one Village that stands on foot above the rest..." He answered, wanting to explain some more of the Village powers, but his head snaps to a bush to their right, same with Naruto and Sasuke.
'Bushes...' Sasuke thought, narrowed eyes staring at the rustling leaves in the bush. Before he could do anything, Naruto flung a kunai into the bush and it stopped rustling.
"Ha! I got him!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling proud of himself while Kakashi stepped forward and separated the bush's leaves, revealing a white rabbit laying dead on the ground. 'a Winter bunny... In spring?' He thought and stood up. 'What?!' His eyes snap to the left and he spots a large blade flying through the air towards them.
"Everyone get down!" He commanded and they all fell to the floor just in time as the blade struck into the tree close to them.
"The hell was that?!" Naruto yelled out, standing up. "Where did that come from..!" He grumbled, patting his clothes off and glanced up, only to spot Kakashi's hand in front of them.
"Stand back." Kakashi's voice came to them, but unlike his usual relaxed voice, this sounded... Dire.
Sasuke stood up and looked past Kakashi, to where the blade was pierced into a tree. "Who..." He muttered, seeing a man standing on top of the sword.
The man's torso bear, he wore only white camo sleeves over his arms and pants, while his lower face seemed bandaged up, covering his mouth.
The man glanced at the group, letting out a chuckle. "No wonder the two failed." The man spoke, his eyes locked onto Kakashi. "Kakashi of the Sharingan..."
"What?!" Sasuke snapped his head and stared at the back of Kakashi. "Sharingan?" He spoke up, his voice slightly wavered.
"What's a sharingan..?" Naruto leaned over and whispered to Sasuke.
Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke didn't take his eyes off of Kakashi as he explained. "It is the powers of the Uchiha clan. Our Dojutsu."
"The man who copied over 1000 jutsu..." The man on top of the blade continued.
Kakashi slowly reached upwards and gripped his headband that covered his left eye. "Zabuza Momochi... Demon of the Hidden Mist." He pushed his headband up, revealing his left eye.
Zabuza's eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. "What an honor..." He spoke. "For me to see the Sharingan of the legendary Kakashi."
Ignoring the man, Kakashi glanced slightly at his team behind him and commanded, ignoring Sasuke's stunned expression. "Stay back and surround Tazuna. Protect him." His eyes turned serious as he spoke. "And don't enter the fight."
"Enough talking!" Zabuza snapped and vanished from his position and appeared standing on top of the lake a few feet away from them.
Kakashi, being the only one who saw where he moved, turned towards him as he took out a kunai. "Remember..." His voice low, he reminded them as he watched Zabuza form hand seals before the whole area above the lake got covered in mist. "Don't enter the fight."