Just as morning was breaking, his half sleep haze broke off and he snapped to alert as a figure in a pink kimono entered the clearing.
He raised the crossbow to his shoulder as the figure checked the meadow for something, a basket full of plants under their arm as they walked. They looked around the clearing and sighted the boy lying, now snoring gently in the clearing.
The pruning knife they were carrying gently moved as the grip was altered. The knife was raised as the figure knelt next to the boy.
The sharp twang of the crossbow going off resonated around the clearing. The figure was quick, and blocked the bolt with the pruning knife, the force of the projecting ripping it clean out of their fingers.
The next bolt was caught by a wall of ice.
"Come out or the genin dies. I don't want to kill him."
Naruto dropped from the trees, loaded crossbow pointing dead at the ninja's face.
"Drop your weapon."
"Drop yours first. You are in no danger, as I said, I don't want to fight."
Naruto lowered his bow very, very slowly. He distrusted the figure, a teenager by the looks of things. The pink dress and choker screamed girl, but that was irrelevant. They knew ice jutsu, which was unexpected.
With the bow lowered to his side, the figure looked at him, eyes slightly narrowed on the pale face.
"You're the person who attacked me before. How did I not sense you?"
"I'm good at hiding."
"You are. What's your name?"
"You expect me to say?"
"Not really now. I thought we could get along without killing each other. I don't like killing."
"Killing is my job."
The silence was total.
"I wasn't going to kill him you know. I'm just gathering herbs to use for healing. Surely even you recognise the sanctity of medic corps."
"An enemy is an enemy."
The look on the figure's face became harder and colder.
"I suggest you leave. He is waking up and I will kill him if you aren't gone back to the town before he fully wakes. I won't kill him if you leave and let us be."
Naruto considered the option. He could kill the figure, a relatively powerful ninja compared to the genin they held hostage, but at the cost of the genin's life.
He thought back to the situation with Hinata back in the debriefing. The Hokage's face of anger when he had threatened to harm another shinobi of Konoha had been so intense, so real.
And now he was effectively pointing his bow at another boy. He had no choice.
"Fine. If you do kill him, I will end your life."
"Fine. Now go."
He backed off and moved into the bushes at speed. About ten steps in he doubled back and took up position at a different edge, bow out and aimed.
He relaxed slightly when he saw that they were talking without any weapons drawn. It was odd. The enemy shinobi knew that the genin was an enemy, and yet was not killing them off. They had had the chance after all. They had a perfect opportunity.
He struggled to see the logic behind the action and drew a blank. Every possibility he could see lead to a favourable outcome if he were in his foes position unless getting the herbs was so essential that they couldn't even risk fighting.
But that didn't add up with the supposed injuries Zabuza had taken.
He ran the scenarios through his head again to check if he'd missed anything. He hadn't. That made no sense. The situation didn't make any sense.
Still, the figure was now gone. The team wouldn't be attacked for another few days at best, and well, they wouldn't exactly miss him if he were gone now would they? Perfect chance to trail the figure.
He waited till the genin had begun moving back towards the town, activated his Byakugan, and moved off in pursuit of the figure.
They were quick. He was working fairly hard to keep up at a good speed, and he silently cursed that he might not be able to keep up. Although his reactions were quick, he was built to assassinate, not chase and fight up close. He forced himself to move onwards, knowing that this would allow him the chance to complete his secondary objective when the time was right.
The figure wasn't expecting to be followed, and was taking a direct route towards the shoreline of the island nation. Naruto considered the fact that because Gato was blocking the shipping; it probably meant he had a base on the island.
The dock warehouses came into view on the horizon, and Naruto smiled. Lots of shadows, lots of rooftops, tons of cover. He could really get to work here if he wanted to. And could get in. The wire fence around the perimeter would be a stubborn obstacle.
The figure stopped running and pulled on the hunter-nin mask it had used before. It approached the compound's gates slowly and deliberately. The gates were opened, the figure walked in, and the gates were closed. Guards lined the towers, armed with bows and whatever equipment they used.
They had every above ground approach covered. Advancing in the day would be suicide. Naruto decided to sit and watch the compound until it was dark.
The hours past, as Naruto picked out guard routines and possible blind spots, trying to lip read when he had his Byakugan active. He kept it off mostly. After awhile, it depleted too much chakra and caused him to get splitting headaches. He'd learned that the hard way after his first mission.
The soft reds of the sunset began once again to appear on the horizon and he stretched out his muscles.
It was time to get to work.
The days passed without note. The genin were training and seemed to have settled down a bit. Kakashi was back to full strength and ready to fight again.
The nights though.
He felt the sensation he had felt before when he had been given a mission before. Even if there was no kill yet, Gato kept himself wrapped in layers of security and constantly had several guards around him, penetrating each layer, working out how to break each different protocol, working out hiding spots, weaknesses, exploitable holes. It was something he could do forever.
Learning the way the guards walked, their posture, their terrible misuse of language. Their codes and slang. He was compiling a statistical list in his head of how to become one of these people. Learning phrases he could use in tight spots or if questioned too hard. He found it fascinating, a study that would be tested every night when he infiltrated.
He was sure that he had finally worked it out. There was about a one minute window. It wasn't going to be dignified. It wouldn't be clean. But it would work. The only other way would be to just be invited in.
He slipped out under the cover of dark and took up a watch position over the gate. The sun was rising again, a hazy red glow on the horizon. That mean rain later. Some might consider
Then he saw the figures walking out of the gates.
The attack was this morning.
A knot of anticipation formed in his stomach. He had never seen how the average shinobi fought, especially high power ones. This would be fascinating. Although the accomplice would be a threat to the genin.
He set off back for the village, outpacing the two figures, which moved with a slowness that belied their mission.
He leapt through the trees at speed, heading straight for the village. Sometimes outright speed was needed as opposed to stealth.
Panting slightly, he barrelled through the open upstairs window of the house just as the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window.
Kakashi sat up quickly, Naruto didn't waste any time.
"They're coming."
Kakashi nodded.
A/N- Leave a review guys, let me know what y'all think of this fanfiction.
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