CHAPTER 1

Naruto Uzumaki was not happy. Not one bit. Giving the man they were escorting a death glare he stomped onwards on the pebble road. The Third Hokage had send Team 7 on a mission that the blonde loathed. Normally, he would be happy to escort a person to their village. But not the creep walking next to his sensei. Verrat, in his eyes, was as bad as Mizuki, the man who had tricked him into stealing Konaha's Scroll of Seals. The man reeked of garbage as if he had been in a sewer all day. His clothes were worn and the only weapon he had was a long silver blade, which he had a tendency to clean. His eyes were as dark as coal and unlike Sasuke's contained no warmth; ever. His hair was bristle and long, his skin as dry as parchment. There wasn't one thing that Naruto liked about the man and he made sure his view was known.

"You got a problem with me brat?" Verrat snarled when Naruto continued to stare at him.

"You better believe it!" Naruto hissed. "What the heck is your problem, you creep? Stop leering at me every fifteen seconds!"

"I'm not the one who initiates the staring!" Verrat hissed. "It's you who can't keep your eyes off me and Uchiha!" Sakura whirled around at this, her mouth open.

"Verrat-san, that's a rather wild accusation..." she began peeking at Sasuke to see his reaction. Sasuke just walked on as if nothing was happening behind him. Naruto turned red, in both anger and embarrassment.

"You want to know why that is?" he hissed. "Because you won't leave him alone for five minutes. Every time I turn around your asking him about his great clan or times his activated his sharingan. I don't know what you're after but I don't like you." As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto smiled. Verrat's eyes, if anything, grew even darker. "I knew it" Naruto thought proudly. "He's trying to get Sasuke to join his team or something."

"Naruto, why are you such a loser?" Sasuke said from in front of him.

"Huh?!" Naruto bellowed.

"Look Dobe, Verrat's interest in the clan in normal. Even if he were trying to capture me, there's no way that he would succeed." Sasuke said coldly. "Both of us know this." Sakura nodded eagerly.

"Of course, Sasuke-kun!" Verrat said in a sickly sweet voice that caused Naruto and this time Sakura as well, to glare at the man. "There's no way that you could beat me. Yet I'm sure there's someone who could. After all, every shinobi had a weakness." Sasuke frowned.

"With the exception of me, I have no weakness." he said curtly.

"Oh, I don't believe that to be true." Verrat said pulling out his blade and cleaning its already spotless blade. "I've heard that you cared deeply for your family..."

"Verrat-san, I'll have to stop you there." Kakashi said, walking with make-out violence edition four in his hand. "My student's pasts are something that we don't discuss." Verrat made a bow that seemed almost mocking towards Kakashi.

"I'm truly sorry" he said grinning with his blackened teeth. "I'll make sure to stick in the present from now on." The group walked in silence until they reached a meadow field where they decided to stay the night. They were setting up their sleeping bags when Naruto decided to approach Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" he whispered in a low voice. Sasuke frowned.

"What is it?" he asked gruffly. Naruto paused fidgeting ever so slightly.

"Uh, about what that creep Verrat said..." he began.

"Leave it." Sasuke replied climbing under the covers. Naruto bit his lip softly.

"Fine Teme!" he snapped turning his head away. "I see how it is!"

"Go to bed, Dobe" Sasuke hissed from under his sheets. Frowning Naruto was about to do just that until he heard a voice calling him.

"Hey blonde brat, over here for a second!" Verrat called somewhere from inside his tent that he had brought along. Naruto grumbled angrily to himself as he headed over.

"What was Kakashi-sensei thinking accepting this mission?!" he wondered. He got his answer as soon as he walked into the tent. Kakashi was leaving the tent with about five different Icha Icha books.

"Verrat has the whole collection of my favourite series" he replied to his stunned student. "I'm borrowing them for a light read. Goodnight!"

"YOU APPLIED US ON THIS MISSION SO YOU COULD READ-" Naruto shouted when Kakashi covered him mouth. He gave Naruto a quick smile then left in a poof of dust. "Perv!" Naruto yelled after him then stormed into Verrat's tent. The man gave him a smirk that made Naruto want to punch him out then and there.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked rudely.

The man smiled and asked "Naruto, does Sasuke consider you and Sakura to be his friends?" Naruto stared at the man suspiciously.