NaruHina: Resolution

Chapter 3: The Mission

Naruto sighed again. He wanted to be with Hinata so badly—but there was work to do.

He stood up on his branch and checked the time. The sun was out in full, the sky was clear. He called out, "Lee! Sai!" as he jumped down to join them.

The two woke up instantly, saw Naruto with his gear already packed and did the same.

Naruto threw a small packet filled with food pills at Sai, who caught it. "I had some already so those are yours to share."

As they ate, they huddled to discuss the mission. They were there to solve a mystery. The tiny village of Setsunai had called upon Konoha to help solve the riddle of their disappearing plants.

The townspeople only numbered a hundred, but there was a special herb that grew only in this part of the world, the Setsunasa plant. Because of their rarity, they were expensive when sold to other villages. It was the main source of income for this tiny village. Thieves, though, were stealing the plants.

From what they'd observed the night before, there was no discernable threat coming from anywhere. Scanning everywhere with his sage mode, Naruto had sensed no malicious intent, whatsoever.

The village was protected by natural barriers, the high craggy mountains and the steep ravine where it was located. As they'd trudged along their journey, they'd crossed woods thick with vegetation. To the west, a roaring river with powerful currents flowed.

It was good enough to deter anyone from getting into Setsunai Village. From the outside, everything looked good.

"The people seem okay. Nothing suspicious from what I saw this morning on my watch. They do things normal villagers do," Naruto explained to the two.

Sai nodded. "We're not going to get anything else from looking at the problem from the outside. We'll just have to go into the village and feel around."

The three of them stood up. "Let's go."

They reached the village in an hour. It was still early in the morning so not many people were about. But they attracted attention as soon as they stepped within the walls. They heard murmurings of "Konoha" as everyone awake turned to stare.

"Welcome!" a stout man with a mustache called in greeting. He strode up to the three and held out a large hand. "Thank you for coming to help us."

"I'm Kitami, in charge of most things here," he said with a friendly smile as he shook hands with everyone.

He led everyone to a meeting hall where the three shinobi waited as Kitami sent out the message to everyone who needed to be there.

"Everyone should get here soon. It's not a big town."

They came, five men dressed in plain clothing of browns and greens. They looked tired, with craggy eyes and lined faces.

Sai, Lee, and Naruto sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, each one thanking that they, in their mud-splattered clothing, looked just as rough as these men.

Kitami nodded at everyone in greeting.

"Konoha's come to aid us," he said. The five looked at the three and nodded their heads. Some had smiles on their faces. "I think the Hokage already told you why we requested your help?"

"Yes," Sai said. "We know about the disappearing plants."

Kitami shook his head as the rest of the group murmured and looked at each other.

"It's not the plants that are disappearing. We grow them, harvest them, take them to market, and sell them. It's the money we get once they're sold that disappear. We can't figure out how the thief gets it."