
Logan arrives at the ramen shop still wearing his Leaf headband, the training grounds fresh in memory. Warm lanternlight and familiar broth welcome him from the street.

Teuchi
Welcome back, young shinobi! You look like someone carrying a successful story. Come in and tell me what happened.
Teuchi, the broad elderly shopkeeper in his white headscarf, sets a bowl near the counter and leans forward with open interest. The shop remains peaceful and nearly empty.

Logan
I succeeded in Kakashi-sensei’s exercise. Team Seven worked together, and I took both bells.

Teuchi
Both bells? Then Kakashi pushed you hard. He has quite a reputation for arriving late, even when village duties should have taken him elsewhere.
Teuchi ladles more broth into the bowl, his smile turning knowingly amused. Outside, evening settles over the village while the shop’s warmth holds steady.

Teuchi
Perhaps that lateness is part of his lesson, or perhaps Kakashi simply follows his own schedule. What do you think, Logan?
“I think Kakashi wanted us all to work as a team”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled -1)


Logan
I think Kakashi-sensei wanted all of us to work as a team.
The words leave Logan quietly, and his smile fades when the hot bowl shifts beneath his hand, spilling broth across the counter and staining his sleeve.

Teuchi
That sounds exactly like the lesson he intended. You saw beyond the bells and recognized what held Team Seven together.
Teuchi quickly lifts the bowl away from the spreading spill and places a folded cloth beside Logan. Steam curls between them as evening deepens outside.

Teuchi
The cost of noticing such lessons is that they give you more responsibility. Your teammates may look to you when the next danger comes.

Teuchi
Clean your sleeve, young shinobi, then eat while the broth is warm. A team leader still needs strength after making the right choice.
Director's note
I smile at him as I thank him for the dinner. I continue to eat it. The day comes as Team 7 is in the Hokage's office awaiting our D rank mission

Logan wipes the broth from his sleeve, then looks toward Teuchi and smiles. He accepts the cloth and cleans himself while the shop’s lanterns glow warmly.

Logan
Thank you for dinner.

Teuchi
You are welcome, young shinobi. Eat well, and carry that teamwork into whatever comes next.
Logan finishes the ramen while Teuchi tends the simmering pot. Outside, night settles over the village, and the successful exercise gives way to sleep and a new morning.
The next day, Team Seven waits inside the Hokage’s office. Naruto fidgets beside Logan, Sakura stands composed, Sasuke watches silently, and Kakashi leans near the wall.
Behind the broad desk sits Hiruzen Sarutobi, an elderly man with a lined face, white beard, and ceremonial robes beneath the shadow of his Hokage hat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi
Team Seven, your first assignment is ready. It is a D-rank mission within the village, suited to a newly formed squad.
Director's note
The mission the Hokage gives us, is protecting a man back to his village. Land of Waves. He proceeds to meet team 7 at the village gate

Hiruzen unrolls a mission scroll across the desk. Kakashi straightens from the wall, while Naruto leans forward beside Logan and Sakura studies the document.

Hiruzen Sarutobi
You will escort a bridge architect safely to the Land of Waves. He will meet you at the village gate, then you will guard him on the journey.

Naruto
A mission outside the village? That sounds much more important than chasing cats!

Kakashi Hatake
It is still classified as D-rank, Naruto. Stay alert, follow instructions, and remember that four students require careful coordination.
At the village gate, Team Seven gathers beneath the morning sun. A stocky elderly man waits beside a travel pack, his gray beard untrimmed and his weathered coat patched from long use.

Tazuna
You are the ninja team assigned to escort me? Hmph. You all look younger than I expected, especially the extra one.
Naruto bristles, Sakura glances toward Kakashi, and Sasuke quietly measures the road beyond the gate. Kakashi lifts one hand, signaling the squad to assemble before departure.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escort the bridge architect safely to the Land of Waves
Director's note
We continue our path outside the village with the man. This being our very first time outside the village. Eventually a little further away from the village. Two shinobi from the land of waves are stalking us. Only Kakashi seems to know at this point.

Kakashi’s raised hand lowers. Team Seven forms around Tazuna, then passes through the village gate and follows the road into unfamiliar countryside beneath the bright morning sky.

Tazuna
Keep moving. The Land of Waves is not close, and I would rather reach home before nightfall.
The village walls recede behind them. Grasslands and wooded slopes replace the familiar streets, while Logan walks beside Naruto and studies every turn in the road.

Naruto
This is amazing! We are finally outside the village on a real mission. I wonder what the Land of Waves looks like.
Farther along, the road narrows between damp trees and low mist. Two faint disturbances move behind the team, concealed near a shallow pool and a tangle of roots.

Kakashi Hatake
They have followed us since the road fork. Their concealment is competent, but not enough to escape notice.
Kakashi continues walking with one hand in his pocket, apparently relaxed. His visible eye shifts briefly toward the mist, while the students remain unaware of the hidden pursuit.
“Then the two shinobi try to attack the man but Kakashi stops them”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Melee Weapons, rolled +0)

The mist explodes with motion. Two young adult men in dark travel gear spring from the roots, hooked blades flashing toward Tazuna’s back.
Logan lunges toward Tazuna, reaching to pull him clear and block the attackers’ path. His sandal slips in the wet moss, scraping loudly against stone.

Kakashi Hatake
Stay behind me.
Kakashi appears between them in a blur. He catches one attacker’s wrist, knocks the second blade aside, and drives both shinobi backward from Tazuna.

Tazuna
What in the world? Those men were following us!
The two Wave shinobi retreat into the mist, their attack broken. Logan’s scraped sandal fills with cold water, but Tazuna stands unharmed behind Kakashi.

Kakashi Hatake
Good instinct, Logan. You moved to protect the client, but announce your position less loudly next time.
Director's note
The two shinobi then attack again shortly after we turn another road. Kakashi stops both of them permantely at this point. The rest of the team is shocked at Kakashi's skills

The road bends between dripping trees. Mist gathers over the shallow ditch, and the two Wave shinobi burst from concealment again, blades sweeping toward Tazuna.

Kakashi Hatake
Stay where you are. This time, watch carefully.
Kakashi vanishes before the attackers reach the client. His movement becomes a blur of silver hair, redirected steel, and precise strikes hidden by the thickening mist.
A heavy impact sounds beyond the roadside trees. The two shinobi do not rise again, their weapons abandoned in the wet grass as Kakashi returns without a mark on him.

Naruto
What was that? You stopped both of them so fast I could barely see anything!

Sakura
Kakashi-sensei handled them alone. They were much more dangerous than ordinary bandits.

Sasuke
His speed, timing, and control are far beyond ours. This mission is not as simple as it was called.
Director's note
We eventually reach the dockyard to get inside a boat. On the water to the actual land of waves. Kakashi knows this isnt just a D rank mission. D rank missions dont have shinobi trying to kill students and a man. So he presses for information on the man. The man relunctanly tells us that he couldnt

Kakashi gestures for Team Seven to continue. Tazuna walks rigidly ahead, while the students follow through thinning mist and wet woodland toward the distant dockyard.
By afternoon, wooden piers emerge beside gray water. A weathered ferry waits at the dock, its ropes creaking as waves strike the pilings.

Naruto
We are really crossing the sea! This mission keeps getting more exciting.

Kakashi Hatake
Exciting is not the word I would choose. Two trained shinobi attacked a client during a supposedly routine D-rank mission.
Kakashi’s visible eye settles on Tazuna as the bridge architect steps aboard. Sakura and Sasuke quiet, while Naruto’s enthusiasm fades beneath the instructor’s sharper tone.

Kakashi Hatake
Tell us the truth, Tazuna. Who wants you dead, and why were we sent into danger without the necessary information?

Tazuna
I could not tell the village everything. A powerful shipping magnate named Gato controls the Land of Waves, and he will not allow our bridge to be completed.
“What happened to your leaders? Couldnt they stop them?”


Logan
What happened to your leaders? Couldn’t they stop Gato?
Tazuna glances toward the gray water, his weathered hands tightening around the ferry rail. The dock creaks beneath the shifting weight of the boat.

Tazuna
Our leaders tried, at first. Gato’s money reached the officials, and his hired men frightened anyone who resisted. Soon, the people in power stopped opposing him.

Tazuna
The Land of Waves has no strong army, and our leaders could not protect the villages from a man who controlled the ships, trade, and roads.

Kakashi Hatake
So the bridge threatens his control by opening the country to trade. That explains why trained shinobi were sent after a bridge architect.

Tazuna
Yes. If the bridge is completed, Gato loses his grip on us. That is why I hid the truth. I could not afford a more expensive mission.
The ferry pushes away from the dock, cutting through dark water toward the distant Land of Waves. Kakashi watches the horizon, his suspicion now fully confirmed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn the full extent of Gato’s control
“Kakashi, what does that mean for us? We never fought anyone before.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +4)

Logan
Kakashi, what does that mean for us? We have never fought anyone before.

Kakashi Hatake
It means this mission is more dangerous than the assignment stated. You are not expected to defeat experienced shinobi alone, but you must recognize danger and follow my commands.
Kakashi Hatake turns from the horizon toward Team Seven. The ferry rises and falls beneath them, gray water stretching toward the mist-shrouded coast.

Kakashi Hatake
If another attack comes, protect Tazuna first. Naruto and Sakura, stay near him. Sasuke, watch the flanks. Logan, observe movement and report what you notice.

Naruto
So we have an actual formation now? Good! We can handle it if we stay together!

Tazuna
You are children. If Gato’s men return, do not pretend this is some academy exercise. Their blades will not stop because you are inexperienced.
Kakashi Hatake’s visible eye narrows, but his voice remains calm. He gives the team a concrete advantage: his full attention will remain on threats beyond their ability while they guard the client.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the next threat to Tazuna
− Scene Quest Removed
Learn the full extent of Gato’s control
Director's note
With the formation for the team set. We eventually reached the bridge. We get off as we begin to head through the roads to get to the man's house. On the way, we can get another attack by one person. This man is called Zabuza. We barely dodge this attack.

The ferry reaches the Land of Waves. Team Seven disembarks with Tazuna, following a damp road beneath heavy mist while gray water disappears behind them.

Kakashi Hatake
Stay in formation. Naruto and Sakura guard Tazuna, Sasuke watches the flanks, and Logan reports anything unusual.
They pass weathered cottages and winding roads toward Tazuna’s home. The silence feels wrong, broken only by distant water and footsteps on wet earth.

Tazuna
Keep moving. We are close enough now that Gato’s hired men may try something desperate.
A massive sword suddenly tears through the mist and crashes toward the road. Team Seven barely scatters as the blade embeds itself in a tree ahead.
A tall adult man emerges atop the sword’s hilt, wrapped in bandages with only his cold eyes visible. Kakashi steps before the students.

Kakashi Hatake
Zabuza Momochi. Demon of the Hidden Mist. Protect Tazuna and stay behind me. This opponent is far beyond a routine mission.
Protect Tazuna from Zabuza
Quest Complete
Escort the bridge architect safely to the Land of Waves
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Superb→Legendary
Quest Complete
Identify the next threat to Tazuna