Having stopped on the shelter that stood some distance away from the mouth of the bridge, Team Konoha rested momentarily. The Genin chatted amongst themselves while their Jonin sensei's discussed about the rearrangement of the group. Tazuna was amongst them, shuffling a deck of cards before handing two cards each to Kiba, Lee, Shino and Sasuke.
"What numbers do you green-nosed brats have?" Tazuna asked in a lazy drawl, "If you've got twenty one, you win."
The four younger boys shot discreet glances to each other after taking a peek at their card before they nodded in synchronisation.
"Any of you want to draw more cards?" They shook their heads and Tazuna smiled cockily, thinking that he'd won. "Alright, turn 'em so I can show you how a real winner does it."
Flipping over his own cards, Tazuna proudly showed off a ten and a queen, indicating that he had gotten a twenty.
The boys flipped their respective hands over, showing off their cards that consisted of every single king and ace which would number to twenty one, effectively beating Tazuna.
"Wh-Wha... How..." Tazuna seemed to sober up immensely at the sight of the four winning hands, shown to him by the proud boys.
"Uwoooh!" Lee whooped, punching the air happily, "The eternal springs of Youth have granted us this victory!"
"Beginner's luck." Sasuke smirked, flipping his hand over and returning it to Tazuna. The man accepted the cards with a blank look on his face that hid his inner embarrassment.
As Shino and Kiba did the same, the images on the faces of the cards shimmered and changed, the Genjutsu placed on them vanishing and revealing their original forms—assorted numbers that would've lost to Tazuna's twenty. Lee handed his own one in, grin still wide, however his hadn't changed at all. Very much so considering his inability to use Genjutsu. It seemed as though he had won through pure luck.
The boys collected their winnings (Tazuna's broken pride) and began to chat idly amongst each other to pass the time.
"Kiba, where is Akamaru?" Lee asked, having finally noticed the Inuzuka lacking his canine partner.
"We were testing out a new technique and Akamaru accidentally broke his front paw after we failed. So I asked sis to take care of him while we went to Wave for this mission." Lee nodded, giving Kiba a thumbs up for trying despite his failure and wished him luck in his next attempt.
Meanwhile with the trio of Jonin, Kakashi had realised that he had been too quick to group the Genin together in a single team while he and Gai too the front lines. Up against opponents who could fade in and out of the battlefield, the kids were bound to be in a lot of danger were Zabuza to target them.
They didn't exactly know or had worked all that well with each other either—so they probably knew little of each other's abilities and techniques—were more than likely to strike each other in the obscured battlefield than they were to hit Zabuza or Raiga.
Kakashi decided that the previous assault group would break back up into their original teams. Neji and Lee would provide support for Gai while Naruko and Sasuke returned to Kakashi. While Gai had a tracker on his own team, Kakashi felt the need to add Kiba onto the team—no matter how much Naruko disliked the boy—since he could provide them with his ability in sniffing out foes through the mist. Undeniably a useful skill on such an occasion.
With a clap of his hands, Kakashi got the attention of the Genin.
"Alright, upon further discussion, your sensei's and I are going to split the assault group up." He told them the details of the new teams before the teens nodded in agreement. It did make much more sense than just clumping them all together and guessing that they had each other's backs. Lee and Neji knew how each other fought, same went for Naruko and Sasuke. But neither pairs were really capable of watching each others back, especially with Neji's constant scorn for those he felt were lesser than him and Naruko's—at times—explosive attitude when it came to annoying teammates.
"If there are no questions, we'll be moving out in a minute." Kakashi's eye closed as he smiled, "So prepare to leave soon." The teens nodded before returning to their chattering, trying to finish their conversation before they had to move out. Visible to the experienced Jonin, some of them were trying hard to distract themselves from the jittery, nervous feelings that often came before combat. It was a crawling sensation that Kakashi was familiar with, having lived and gone through a war, he could immediately pinpoint the signs that made their skin itch.
Kakashi closed his heavy-lidded eye and ran his fingers over the metal plate of his headband that hid his other eye. Even with a hard layer over it, Kakashi always seemed to be able to feel the scar that marred the left side of his face. Even though the memory was long in the past, he never forgot the short burst of fear and fright when the shinobi slashed his eye out.
He had Obito to thank for saving his life. Twice actually. His and Rin's deaths had left a bitter taste in his personality for a long time, but a small, stoic, blonde boy had snapped him out of his funk, reminding him of the life he had been given by his childhood friend.
"Yo, Kakashi-senpai." Naruko called out as she made her way over to her teacher's side. The man snapped out of his memories, throwing a smile to Naruko. Speaking of Obito, he wondered if some part of him had reincarnated into Naruko considering how identical their attitudes and personalities were. "How do you think this'll play out?"
"Well..." In the past few weeks of being exposed to the harsh, outside world that waited for them beyond Konoha's walls, it became glaringly obvious to Kakashi that Naruko's ability to lead was growing. The lessons Minato-sensei had taught her regarding leadership had reared their heads proudly, allowing her to act and think coolly in tense situations. Her tenacity and fearlessness, taking command of their little group while he had been knocked out, even in the face of certain danger, showed that she would become a capable Hokage in the future.
"Hopefully, when it comes down to it I hope we don't actually have to do any fighting." Kakashi hummed as he stared out at the foggy bridge. The lone eye narrowed as he scanned what little he could, "But I have a feeling that things are going to get messy."
"Kakashi!" Gai called out, his students standing next to him. "We're ready to move out!"
Kakashi sighed.
"Come on, Naruko-kun. We've got a bridge-builder and his bridge to watch over." The grey haired Jonin gestured, taking the lead of the large group of Konoha shinobi. The large pack began to shuffle out of the shelter, with the Genin following the backs of their respective teachers like little ducklings.