Tazuna shuffled uncomfortably under Kakashi's sharp gaze. The old man took a long swig of his beer bottle — and seeing everyone's serious faces, he sighed heavily, finally setting it down.
"...Alright, alright," he muttered. "I lied."
Sakura gasped. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Naruto tilted his head slightly, watching him carefully.
Tazuna scratched his head in shame.
"The truth is... I'm a very important man in the Land of Waves. I'm a master bridge builder — or I was — but right now, there are... certain people who don't want that bridge completed."
"Certain people?" Kakashi pressed.
Tazuna nodded grimly. "A man named Gato. He's a very rich and powerful shipping magnate. Publicly, he runs a big company... but behind the scenes, he's more like a crime lord. Smuggling, drugs, trafficking — he's got his claws in everything. He controls our entire country with fear and money."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead before continuing. "If the bridge is completed, it'll connect us to the outside world, and Gato's control over our people will crumble. That's why he's sending mercenaries and thugs after me."
Naruto scowled, clenching his fists.
"So that's why ninja are after you," Sasuke said, piecing it together.
"Exactly," Tazuna said with a nod. "I didn't have the money to officially hire a higher-rank escort. So I... lied, and said this was a C-rank mission."
He lowered his head, ashamed.
"I know it was wrong... but if that bridge isn't finished, my country is finished. Everyone I love will starve under Gato's rule."
Silence hung heavy in the air.
Naruto shifted, feeling anger bubbling inside him — not at Tazuna, but at the idea of some scumbag terrorizing innocent people. He glanced at Kakashi, waiting for the decision.
Kakashi sighed through his nose, thoughtful.
"Normally, the proper response would be to abandon the mission and return to the village. After all, we weren't hired for A-rank level danger."
He looked over his team — at Naruto's burning spirit, Sakura's worried but determined face, and Sasuke's intense, challenging stare.
"...But we are shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. Protecting people is part of our pride and duty. I won't force you — but if you're willing to continue, raise your hand."
Naruto's hand shot up immediately.
"I ain't a quiter"
Sasuke smirked slightly and raised his hand too.
"Tch. Not interested in cowardice."
After a brief moment, even Sakura nodded, hand lifting.
"I'll do it too. We're a team."
Kakashi's eye curved into a proud little crescent.
"Alright, then," he said. "Mission continues."
Tazuna's eyes widened. "Thank you... thank you, all of you," he said, his voice thick with emotion.
Naruto cracked his knuckles, his excitement growing.
'This... this is it! My first real ninja mission! Real enemies... real danger...! Bro I am excited '
'Stay sharp, kit,' Kurama's voice echoed calmly inside him. 'This will test you far more than you realize.'
Naruto smirked internally.
'Bring it on.'
And with that, Team Seven continued their journey, now fully aware that true danger was waiting for them ahead.
They continued their journey in tense silence, the mist curling around their feet like whispering ghosts.
After some time, they arrived at the edge of a vast, glimmering lake that stretched as far as the eye could see. The water was eerily still, disturbed only by the occasional ripple. Waiting for them was a weathered old ferryman, his tiny boat barely looking large enough to carry them all.
They boarded carefully, Kakashi keeping his eyes scanning the surroundings the entire time. The boat creaked as it drifted across the glassy water, propelled by the ferryman's long pole. The journey lasted about an hour, the silence broken only by the occasional splash of water.
As they floated farther, a massive structure loomed ahead — a half-finished bridge, stretching across the lake like a wounded giant.
"That's the bridge you're building?" Naruto asked, craning his neck to look up at it.
Tazuna nodded, pride flickering in his tired eyes.
"Yeah. Or... it was being built before Gato's thugs started attacking the workers."
Naruto gazed at the enormous pillars jutting from the water, the massive iron beams suspended mid-air.
'The Naruto world always confused me... They have all this technology... I guess it's semi-modern.' he thought, scratching the back of his head.
They passed underneath the shadow of the bridge, the enormous structure casting an oppressive, cool darkness over them. Soon, they reached the far side, where a cluster of buildings sat half-submerged in the misty wetlands. Groves of trees grew straight out of the water, their roots tangled and exposed.
Naruto's face fell a little as he looked around.
'Man, this place looks... sad.' he thought.
The villagers they glimpsed through the mist were gaunt, moving with slow, fearful steps. The air felt heavy, not just from the moisture but from a suffocating despair.
They disembarked and continued on foot, moving carefully along the narrow, muddy trails. Naruto walked with his hands lazily behind his head, though his sharp blue eyes scanned everything. He knew what was coming next — and who was coming.
'I can't wait to fight him... I'm not at his level yet, but I have a ton of advantages — speed, strength, that's for sure. Experience? Yeah, he's got that over me. But still... this'll be good.' Naruto thought, his blood pumping with excitement.
Kakashi suddenly spoke, voice low and firm.
"We have to be careful from here on out. Stay alert."
The team nodded immediately, shifting into a defensive formation — Tazuna in the middle, Sakura close to his side, Sasuke and Naruto flanking them. Kakashi led at the front, eyes scanning sharply.
The mist thickened.
Then —
"GET DOWN!!" Kakashi barked.
Without hesitation, everyone dropped low as a massive sword whirled through the air with a deadly hiss, slicing just inches above their heads. It embedded itself deep into a thick tree trunk with a heavy, shuddering thunk.
The team looked up, eyes wide.
A figure appeared, standing casually atop the giant sword's hilt — tall, muscular, shirtless beneath a sleeveless tunic, his face half-hidden behind bandages. His presence was like a heavy fog pressing down on their lungs.
Kakashi's eye narrowed sharply as he immediately recognized the threat.
"Well, if it isn't Momochi Zabuza..." he said calmly. "The Demon of the Hidden Mist. The man who betrayed his village and fled."
Naruto grinned slightly, excitement racing through him.
'There he is.'
Sakura's hands trembled slightly. Sasuke's jaw tightened, his eyes locked on the man. Even Tazuna froze, his breath shallow.
Kakashi, never taking his eye off Zabuza, reached up with one hand and lifted his forehead protector, revealing his fully matured Sharingan eye — three tomoe swirling within the crimson iris like a predator preparing to strike.
"Team, stand back," Kakashi ordered in a low tone. "This isn't your opponent."
The tension in the air crackled like a drawn bowstring, the mist around them growing even denser, almost suffocating.
Zabuza grinned from behind his bandages, a dark and bloodthirsty look in his eyes.
"This time..." he said, voice rough and cruel, "I'm here to kill."
TO BE CONTINUED