“You’re earlier than what I expected judging by your attendance record in the academy. Where is the idiot?”

 

Ren couldn’t help but chuckle at the avenger’s blunt and brusque way of speaking. He didn’t necessarily hate it, but he couldn’t say he liked it either. It was direct and that was what mattered the most.

 

“We separated quite early, I thought he’d already be here before me. I was wrong apparently.” He spoke out and Sasuke snorted.

 

“Why haven’t you brought anything with yourself? You surely cannot be planning to aid us with an empty stomach.”

 

“Sasuke, I think you’ve forgotten I am a seal master. I don’t need a modicum of items to do my thing. I use storage seals which open a small pocket dimension which can store some items. the weight of stuff I bring along is irrelevant due to that. Saves me a lot of trouble."

 

The dark-haired boy grunted at the response and realized just how foolish his question had been in the first place. The tip of his ears turned slightly red and would've been nearly invisible to most/

 

It didn’t escape the Uzumaki’s eyes however. Not that he let it show on his face. The fact his sight had been enhanced by the successful transplant of chakra just made it better.

 

“You have any info on the man we’re supposed to protect? I don’t really care but he sounds really shady. From what exactly does a bridgebuilder have to hide from?” Sasuke said while standing up and flattening his attire.

 

‘Sasuke doesn’t sound like someone who’d care about such mundane stuff, but I might’ve been influencing his decision-making more than both of us have realized. I don’t know if that’s for the best or not, as I can be pretty rash at times.’

 

“Hmmm, now I wonder. On the outside he looks just like your average old man who spends his time building bridges. From his way of speaking, clothes, and facial expressions he also looks nothing more than a man tired of life and manners. “

 

‘I had clones search as much as possible about the Land of Wave lately, and well what I’ve found leaves a lot to be desired.’

 

“But this is all just a ruse. In reality, he operates a tight-network from which he gets the required materials to build a bridge between two landmasses. Gato, the ever-harsh businessman he is often tries to stop it but with little success as of late.”

 

Sasuke visibly had his muscles bristle at the mention of Gato. He was not blind to the rumors which went around the village, and Gato was possibly one of the most-vile people the Elemental Nations had seen in recent years.

 

“Then this is potentially more than just a simple C-Rank Mission. Hmph, not a challenge for our team regardless, that little I am sure of.”

 

Ren preened at the mention of their team.

 

“I knew you cared.”

 

A scowl was all he received in return. He just giggled in response to Sasuke’s antics and decided to sit down on the ground, laying next to the walls of the opened gate.

 

“Gato is hiring many thugs, highwaymen and plenty of rogue ninjas so I wouldn’t be as sure as you are. But with Kakashi-sensei it should be a piece of cake.” Ren ended his report amusingly.

 

Sasuke merely nodded but didn’t pay further notice. He was too engrossed on the scroll he had pulled out of his backpack a moment ago.

 

A fire jutsu – Ren noticed.

 

He decided to observe his newly-bought sword. Noticing that his onyx-eyed friend wasn’t paying attention to him, he quickly used a brush to enchant the sword several times over.

 

‘To be fair, this isn’t even the job of a seal anymore, this is more similar to a rune from one of these modern movies they produce in the capital.’

 

The seal enchants would improve the durability, chakra channeling capabilities, sharpness and even the pommel was much more comfortable to hold than when compared to before. The sheath could also be used as a decent weapon until he could use the actual sword.

 

“Morning.”

 

Kakashi eye-smiled at his two students. Unlike Ren, he too also had a backpack. His two present students greeted him back with the same amount of energy as the silver jounin. Not that he really minded of course, like always.

 

‘Doesn’t he know basic fuinjutsu? I mean I thought every jounin was supposed to have some adequate knowledge on every art, even fuinjutsu.’

 

The amethyst orbs observed the jounin discretely and he quickly noticed that the tiny pockets in his vest which normally were filled with some sort of scrolls, were empty.

 

The breeze of the morning hit the three of them, followed by a swish from the many leaves of the trees surrounding the village.

 

“So Kakashi-sensei, where is our ‘boss’?” Ren spoke while pulling out an apple from one of the many seals on his body, weirding out Sasuke for a split of a moment.

 

“Hm, he should be coming here soon enough.”

 

…

 

“Tch, you brat, you sure you’ll be able to keep me safe?”

 

“Shut, Shut up old man. I’ll show you how good of a shinobi I am, dattebayo!”

 

“Hah! Nice joke you got there youngling. Maybe eat your vegetables and you’ll grow taller than someone half your age.”

 

“Don’t you dare make fun of my height old man!”

 

A rough and aged voice resonated together with an all-familiar voice of their teammate. It seems their last two companions had meet mid-route. The fuming and scarlet-filled face of Naruto and

 

“This is my first time outside the village, but don’t worry old man, I’ll make sure you don’t lose a hair out of that bunch you got left.”

 

“Why you little…”

 

“Hehehe!”

 

Naruto ran faster than Tazuna and greeted the rest of the team energetically.

 

“Do I really have to put my life on this fool’s hands? There’s this tomato-head who doesn’t even have anything on him, and this broody kid. Geez, you’re going to get me killed by some rogue bandit!” Tazuna complained while settling his straw hat on top of his head.

 

Tomato-head… Tomato-head… Tomato-head

 

A muscle Ren did not know he had twitched. A desire to murder the old man arose, but it left as soon as it came. Instead he extended his hand and showed it to Tazuna, who questioningly looked at it.

 

“What’s this? You want some candy?”

 

Water shot out of his palm and all over the Wave local’s face. The older man was so startled that he retreated several steps backwards.

 

“With all due respect, I’d rather not have you question a shinobi’s abilities. Kakashi-sensei is an all-rounder and he is feared across the Elemental Nations. You think he’d ever take a half-assed team and not bother to teach them anything? You’d think that little of one of Konoha’s best shinobi?”

 

Ren sharply stated while coldly staring at the flummoxed straw-hat-bearing foreigner.

 

“I am a seal master, I specialize in fuinjutsu. That doesn’t mean I suck at other aspects it just means that’s my best one. I will make sure no one manages to even land a hit on you.” Ren continued before walking away.

 

Kakashi immediately got to work to stabilize the situation.

 

“Well, there, there. No need to be so direct, but my student is pretty much right. Some shinobi won’t take it too well if you insult their skills like that. I’m a jounin, so there’s no need to worry about being unlucky or in danger.”

 

“We will see about that Kakashi-san. As for your little bunch of misfits, I hope they’re as good as they seem to boast.” Tazuna snorted and cleared his face using a towel he had taken out from his large backpack.

 

The old man took out a wine bottle from his backpack and started to gulp it down. The previous situation had clearly undone a nerve somewhere in his head. Kakashi chose not to invade his private space, if he wanted to drink alcohol let him to do so.

 

‘Still, as a shinobi that sort of temper should not be allowed to show itself. I’ll need to teach Ren how to keep his anger from clouding his judgement.’ Kakashi arrived to such a conclusion after weeks of studying his student.

 

‘This Tazuna-fellow though, is getting worked up over something. He’s hiding something definitely. I’ll need to intrude with personal questions soon enough. Let’s just hope that it’s not something dangerous.’

 

The group soon started their journey towards the Land of Wave. Tazuna was surrounded in a diamond-shaped formation which left few gaps for possible assassins to exploit. He might not admit it, but he had good eyes so he could see that none of the three little brats were wannabe-shinobi.

 

Meanwhile Ren was left to his own thoughts, excluding the fact he had to maintain the formation and keep an eye on his surroundings.

 

‘That was so unlike me, I know I can be rash, but to lose my head over an insult? I need to collect myself. Such decisions can cost me my life.’

 

His foot stepped on a pond of water and he had to restrain himself from groaning.

 

‘Now my clothes are dirty for no reason. What is water doing here anyway? As far as I’m aware it hasn’t rained in weeks in the Land of Fire or at the very least near Konoha…’

 

His eyes narrowed as he soon came to realize what was going on. A simple eye-contact with the jounin teacher he had come to respect confirmed his thoughts.

 

There were bugs to squish.