"NARUTO! YOU MORON!" Sakura screamed at her blonde teammate, hands fisting in anger.

The blonde in question was covered head-to-toe in bright blue paint. Behind him, a group of grinning academy students stood, a few still clutching some remaining water balloons.

Kakashi eye-smiled nervously. Perhaps this D-Rank mission to help the Academy students with stealth detection wasn't working out so well.

… … …

Two hours earlier

… … …

After receiving the mission, Kakashi had proposed a challenge to his team. If all of them remained unspotted by the Genin-hopefuls, he would reward them with a new C-Rank mission.

Kakashi should have known that it wasn't going to work out.

It had started off well. Sasuke ghosted high in the trees, and Sakura leapt from tree trunk to tree trunk, a crude but effective method of stealth.

Naruto, however, had slightly surprised Kakashi. Even wearing orange, the boy had made himself more scarce than even Sasuke, to the point where his lazy observation was only catching glimpses of the boy. Perhaps those years running from ANBU after pranks had done the blonde some good.

Then, Sakura had begun to flounder. The girl was slight, and naturally quiet, however her stealth was unpractised and clumsy. Simply hiding behind branches and tree trunks would be difficult to keep up while travelling towards the goal. She would likely get chased down and spotted, even by one of the nine year olds.

As Sasuke travelled quickly towards the finish, it was Naruto who noticed Sakura's struggle. Kakashi saw a patch of orange hover uncertainly before doubling back to near his trailing teammate.

The copy nin perked up, eyebrow raising as he observed the pair. Sakura appeared not to have noticed Naruto hanging about, continuing clumsily towards the goal.

Kakashi turned his attention solely on Naruto, watching his movements critically.

He had never been more proud.

The orange-loving blonde was not only successfully staying out of sight, he was also assisting his teammates' travel. Kakashi observed him utilize his shadow clones to sneak behind the group of approaching students and rustle some bushes, drawing the attention of a few who had nearly glimpsed Sakura pass.

A few more distractions later, and Sakura was within a hundred metres of the designated meeting area. Sasuke was already present, slouched with an unimpressed expression on his face.

No doubt the Uchiha thought himself superior for finishing so quickly, but Kakashi was far more pleased with Naruto's performance.

The blonde had begun moving swiftly off the mark, keeping ahead of even Sasuke. It was only when he noticed Sakura trailing that he had slowed, allowing the Uchiha to pass him.

He had already told the team that none of them were to be spotted if they wanted a C-Rank mission, and it appeared that Naruto was responding successfully to his hint that teamwork was key.

He proudly observed the blonde and his extremely successful stealth. His use of clones as distractions was a strategy easily in the high-chuunin range.

They were so close, and Kakashi was already gearing up to congratulate them - especially Naruto - on their success.

Unfortunately, like so many of their D-Rank missions, this is where it went wrong.

One of the children - no doubt a member of the Inuzuka clan or another tracking specialist - had flicked her head towards the real Naruto's hiding spot.

Perhaps she had caught a hint of his scent, or maybe the orange was simply too glaring to miss.

Naruto, to his credit, instantly sensed eyes on him and reacted accordingly before she could even heft a balloon. He flexed his knees and sprung silently from the tree branch he stood on, leaping in a blur to head towards another tree about fifteen metres ahead. Such quick travel would not be maintainable under regular stealth conditions, but it was an easy and effective way to get out of being discovered.

Kakashi was once again thoroughly impressed, and was pleased that it seemed this would be a mission where he could finally congratulate Naruto over the other two Genin.

However it was here, with Naruto in mid-air, that their mission failed.

Sakura, still making her way towards the goal, had jumped deftly into the exact position that Naruto was already mid-leap for. Kakashi almost face-palmed. As a ninja, she should have been aware of her teammates and their position at all times.

Through a gap in the trees, Kakashi saw Naruto's eyes widen, his arms flying out to grab onto a branch to slow him down or change his trajectory. Unfortunately, he was too far from any to do anything.

However, the boy wasn't done yet. Kakashi raised his eye brow again as the blondes' hands flew into a familiar hand seal. In the same instant, Kakashi witnessed the boy grimace, glancing down at the heads of two academy students who were mere metres away, oblivious to the ninja above them.

Within the space of a second, Kakashi had not only witnessed Naruto think of a plan to avoid collision, but also discard it as unusable due to the noise and therefore detection it could create. It was this on-the-fly thinking that made Kakashi privately believe that he could see Naruto one day becoming Hokage, able to fire of quick decisions with logic and reasoning behind him.

However, this left the only option for the boy: continue in his travel as silently as he could

All Naruto could do was stare transfixed at Sakura, begging the girl to silently notice him and move, or at least continue her travel out of the way.

Unfortunately, Sakura was taking extra time to settle herself before each progression, observing her surroundings before leaping. She should be doing this at all times, not only at points of safety, and if she had been doing it properly, their mission would probably have been successful.

As it was, Kakashi could only watch the panicking blonde sail straight into the back of his pink-haired teammate, colliding with her with a thump.

Sakura tumbled forward off the branch, dropping to the floor with a gasp.

Naruto rebounded from the sudden stop, and dropped backwards awkwardly, falling a metre behind Sakura, between her and the two academy student.

Instantly, Naruto was covered in paint, his appearance only getting more blue as the other students were drawn to the noise and arrived to throw their own.

The pink haired ninja rounded on her teammate, fire in her eyes.

"NARUTO! YOU MORON!" Sakura screamed at her blonde teammate, hands fisting in anger.

As Sakura approached her teammate furiously, Kakashi decided to step in. No point him ending up black and blue instead of just blue.

… … … … …. … … … … … …

The wizened Hokage looked over each member of Team 7 equally.

Sasuke and Sakura both stood glaring in the direction of their paint-spattered teammate, keeping their distance.

Kakashi hovered awkwardly in between the two groups, trying to create a semblance of team between them.

"I take it the Academy students are quite well practiced in stealth detection." The Hokage hummed, a slight smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"No!" Sakura screeched, and all heads turned to her. "It's Naruto-Baka's fault, he ruined the whole mission with his terrible ninja skills!... Hokage-sama" The girl petered off awkwardly as she remembered who she was talking to.

"Oh?" A grey eyebrow raised. "Naruto-kun is usually very stealthy. He's one of our most promising ninja for stealth and disguises. Gives my Anbu quite the run for their money." He chuckled.

The blonde - now blue - haired boy who until now had been uncharacteristically quiet perked up a bit at the praise, offering a small smile to his Grandfather surrogate.

Sakura, still remembering who she was addressing, fidgeted as she contained herself.

"Are you sure, Hokage-sama? He stands out like a sore thumb with that orange and is clumsy to boot." Another glare at the wilting blonde.

Hiruzen raised a pipe to his lips, smirking.

"Oh yes, I imagine that if he so wished, I myself could pass Naruto in the street and be none the wiser. His mastery of stealth, henge and his ability to change his whole personality to suit are quite remarkable."

Kakashi caught an almost unperceivable blush to the Hokage's face. No doubt he had Sexy no Juutsu in his mind.

Naruto seemed to be on an emotional rollercoaster, being praised and insulted from two sides. He now stood awkwardly, the paint on his face cracking as it dried.

"Regardless," The Hokage continued. "You did indeed help the Academy students in their stealth detection, so this is still a successful mission. You won't be wanting any more missions today, Kakashi?"

The addressed man shook his head.

"No, Hokage-sama."

"Good." Hiruzen puffed on his pipe. "Sasuke-kun, Sakura-chan, you are dismissed. Naruto-kun and Kakashi, I need to speak to you.

The two dismissed turned to leave, leering at their blonde teammate as they passed.

As the door closed behind them, Hiruzen's face became serious

"We have an important mission I think you can help us out with, Naruto-kun."

As the Hokage explained, the blonde's eyes widened in surprise.

… … … … … … …

Half a continent away, a young girl was crying.

"P-please! Don't hurt me!" She sobbed.

Barely into her teens, the young lady was dressed in the finest clothes; rich colours, fashionable cut and adorned with bangles and jewellery. Her hair was frazzled, showing evidence of having been pulled back into a neat bun.

She knelt in the middle of the corpses of her three ninja guardians, all slain within seconds.

She began to sob as a dark figure approached.

…. …. … … … … ..

Hey guys!

New story, just a little snacky palate cleanser in between working on Things We Know. This won't be as long or as heavy, but it could have a lot more potential for pairings and such that I am not going to include in TWK.

So, it's up to you. I want you to suggest pairings/character deaths/bashings, anything you want to see as the story progresses. If I like the idea and it doesn't clash with the plot, it'll be included.

So, please read and review with your thoughts each chapter!