The blind Uchiha Shikamaru FF

Chapter 20

"What do you mean sensei?" asked Sakura. Why did Kakashi now want to know why Tazuna was being followed? They just had to give him an escort. "This isn't a normal escort. If you're followed and attacked, the price goes up and so does the rank of the mission. This is not a D mission as you know it. I would describe it more as a B, if not an A mission."

Tazuna looked at the team and exhaled. "It's true. The ninjas chasing me want me dead. When the bridge is finished, Gateau will not be happy. You must know that the Wave Kingdom is poor. We can't afford to pay for a higher mission." he explained. "I can understand if you want to abort the mission."

Kakashi briefly considered whether he should really do this, but was dissuaded by Naruto. "I'm definitely not going back to the village now!" he shouted and simply rammed a kunai into his own hand. "Says the scaredy-cat." Sasuke grinned mockingly, making Naruto look at him angrily.

Kakashi exhaled softly and crouched down to Naruto. "Let me see your paw." Kakashi didn't even really look before he could already see the hand healing on its own. "The Kyuubi."

 To make sure no one noticed, he tied a bandage around his hand and stood up again. "We'll finish the mission." he said and could already see how happy Naruto was about it. Tazuna, on the other hand, was relieved. He hadn't thought that the jonin would continue. After all, he could have understood if he hadn't.

Shortly afterwards, they came to the river, which they had to cross. A boat driver was waiting for the team to take the five of them across. Not really a problem, but Hinari had never been on a boat before. Thanks to her training with Shisui, she was able to get out of the water without any problems. But the Uchiha had never been in a boat, so she couldn't assess what was going on around her.

"Come on, I'll help you." Sasuke said, holding out a hand to her. If Sakura didn't know that they were just friends, she would have burst with jealousy. Sakura actually thought it was cute how Sasuke took care of the girl. Why couldn't he do the same with her? Why did he treat other girls differently?

"Um...I..." Hinari began and became very unsure. Her companions waited patiently until Hinari dared to get into the boat. "Nothing will happen." Sasuke assured her, making Hinari bolder.

She slowly lifted her leg to place it on the wobbly wood. This caused the boat to wobble slightly, which made Hinari cling more to Sasuke. Sasuke held her hand tightly and remained patient. He should have trained her to do something like this, even if she might never have needed it. She was always on safe ground. Even on the water itself, she could orient herself better. Water was connected to the earth, so she could recognize the swings. But a boat that always wobbled when she moved and had no real ground to stand on was more difficult.

When Hinari finally managed to get into the boat, she sat down, relieved. Her hand, however, clawed into his top as they set off. Sasuke stayed quietly beside her so that she could calm down too, which she did after a while.

"Wow!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed when he saw the half-finished bridge. "Shh!" Tazuna hissed quickly. They had to be quiet, even if he could just hear Naruto. Naruto quickly clapped his hands over his mouth.

 The crossing of the river went without a hitch. Hinari was the first to leave the boat, even though she had stumbled over the edge. She just wanted to get her feet back on the ground. Sasuke had looked at his best friend with slight amusement. It was hard to believe that she was still a little kid when it came to things like this. To show her that she had done well, he briefly tousled her hair, and Hinari smiled immediately.

"Let's go on." Kakashi spoke and ran ahead, followed by his team. Shortly afterwards, Naruto shot a kunai into a bush. "Naruto!" hissed Sakura angrily. "I heard something." he said sternly and saw a rabbit jump out of the bushes.

"I'm sorry!" he howled quickly and rubbed his cheek against the rabbit, which he had almost caught. Although what Naruto had just done was a mistake, it wasn't all that wrong either. It was true that there was something here. Because a snow hare at this time of year shouldn't be here.

"Get down!" Kakashi shouted immediately and Sasuke had to pull Hinari to the ground with him so that she wouldn't be hit by the sword coming at her from behind. "Who do we have here?" a deeper voice spoke. "If it isn't Kakashi Hatake. The copy ninja from Konoha who has already copied a thousand jutsus."

The jonin raised his head to look at the ninja. His eyes narrowed. "Zabuza Momochi, the renegade ninja from Kirigakure."