Chapter 47 — The Annoying Danaz
Night — Uchiha Residence
A boy with jet-black hair tossed and turned restlessly in his bed. Sleep wouldn't come easily. His body felt uncomfortably warm, like a fire smoldering inside him. More puzzling was the strange urge that stirred in his chest — a vague impulse he couldn't quite understand.
Twelve-year-old Sasuke Uchiha lay there, confused by this restless sensation. What was this strange impulse that made him so uneasy?
Unable to shake the feeling, and knowing he needed to prepare for tomorrow's training, Sasuke finally threw off the blankets and climbed out of bed. The house was shrouded in darkness, but he moved with practiced ease through the quiet halls to the bathroom. Reaching the shower, he turned on the cold water.
A spray of icy water burst from the showerhead, hitting his skin with a shock that helped to cool the heat coursing through his body. The chill was refreshing, offering a brief respite from the burning sensation inside.
But as he dried off and prepared to return to bed, the heat surged back, stronger than before. Sasuke's mouth twitched into a grimace. Now he was beginning to understand — it had to be the strange rations Sakura gave him earlier: those specially made chakra pills, the Heiryo-dama.
The heat wasn't a fever, exactly, but the effect of those potent pills — a sign that the medicine was stirring something deep within his body. With a sigh of resignation, Sasuke dressed in fresh training clothes and quietly slipped out to the training ground. He needed to burn off the excess energy before it overwhelmed him.
He began running, circling the training field over and over again under the soft glow of the moonlight. His breathing steady but determined, his legs pounding the earth with each step.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke caught sight of a shadow moving stealthily in the pale moonlight.
Who could it be?
Curious, he moved closer — only to find it was Naruto Uzumaki, the blond-haired boy from the village.
"Naruto?" Sasuke said, genuinely surprised.
"Huh?! What are you doing here?" Naruto exclaimed, clearly startled.
Sasuke crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be out here talking to you?"
Naruto frowned, crossing his own arms, and the two locked eyes — two stubborn youths unwilling to back down.
After a long moment of tense silence, Sasuke was the first to break.
"I'm not in the mood to talk," he muttered. The restless heat inside him made him feel like he was burning up.
Without another word, Sasuke turned and resumed his running.
Naruto, equally restless from the pills he'd taken earlier, wasn't about to be left behind. He took off after Sasuke, his footsteps quickening to catch up.
Sasuke glanced back, annoyed to see Naruto gaining on him. With a burst of speed, he surged ahead.
Naruto growled in defiance and pushed himself forward, overtaking Sasuke once more.
The two raced on, passing each other repeatedly, neither willing to surrender.
"Stay behind me, loser!" Sasuke taunted.
"You're the one who should stay behind me!" Naruto shot back.
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
The two called out to each other in alternating voices, their youthful energy and rivalry filling the quiet night with the sounds of friendship and competition.
At dawn, Sakura and Kakashi arrived at the training field, only to find the two boys fast asleep — their heads resting side by side, exhausted from their midnight race.
Kakashi chuckled softly, his visible eye crinkling with warmth. "Well, it seems these two really are inseparable."
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Three Days Later
Time had moved quickly. Naruto had finally mastered the Rasengan, a powerful spiraling sphere of chakra. Meanwhile, Sasuke had successfully learned the Chidori, the lightning-infused thrust technique.
However, with Sasuke's current limited chakra reserves, he could only afford to use the Chidori twice before exhausting himself.
The trio — Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura — now stood ready, having accepted their first official mission outside the village. Their target: the Land of Waves.
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Mission Briefing
At the mission assignment office, a grizzled old man with a bottle of sake in hand scowled as he looked at Team 7.
"These kids don't seem reliable at all," he slurred, disdain thick in his voice.
"Huh? What did you say?" Naruto's fiery temper flared immediately at the insult.
"Calm down, Naruto," Kakashi interjected, gently holding back the impulsive boy. Then, turning his gaze toward the old man, he added, "Rest assured, while they may be young, they are capable ninjas."
The man, known as Danaz, was assigned to hand over a C-rank mission. But intelligence from Konoha indicated the mission was closer to an A-rank in difficulty.
Why a C-rank mission then?
Because Danaz, the village contact, had spent most of the mission's reward money on drinking.
Sakura disliked Danaz instantly — he was a drunk and a liar, an embarrassment to the village's reputation. If it weren't for the mission's training value for Naruto and Sasuke, she would have had no qualms about putting him in his place on the spot.
In fact, if Sakura hadn't snagged this mission early, Konoha would have already arrested Danaz for falsifying the mission's rank.
Lying about mission difficulty was a serious offense — ninja lives were far more valuable than a few coins.
Danaz's behavior was like skipping out on a restaurant bill or worse — embarrassing himself at a public house.
Unaware of just how close he was to crossing a line, Danaz continued arguing with Naruto, who was already fuming.
"You! The shortest one!" Danaz barked, pointing at Naruto.
Naruto blinked, then glanced between Sasuke and Sakura, who were both taller than him.
Despite Sakura teaching him how to cook, Naruto had a soft spot for instant noodles — a guilty pleasure he indulged in often. That was probably why he remained the shortest of the three.
"You're asking for it!" Naruto shouted and lunged toward Danaz.
Kakashi quickly stepped between them, holding Naruto back.
Sakura frowned at the foolish old man and leaned close, whispering harshly, "If you don't want everyone in the Land of Waves to find out you spent all the mission money on booze, you'd better behave."
"And we have the right to refuse missions where pay and difficulty don't match," she added coldly.
"You'll face Konoha's consequences if you keep this up."
Danaz's face paled as Sakura's icy gaze pinned him like a hawk.
No matter their age, all ninja deserved respect.
Realizing he'd crossed a line, Danaz finally nodded in defeat.
"Alright… alright," he muttered, stepping back.
"Let's go, Naruto," Sakura said, smiling gently as she looked at the boy who was still simmering but calming down under Kakashi's watchful eye.
"Hmph, what a pain," Naruto muttered, making a face at the old man behind Sakura.
Team 7 officially set out on their first mission beyond the village walls.
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Sakura's thoughts
Watching Naruto, wide-eyed and excited by the prospect of leaving the village, Sakura couldn't help but smile.
"Good luck, Zabuza," she thought quietly. "I'll make sure to pay my respects at your grave."
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End of Chapter 47
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