The Hokage puffed calmly at his pipe as Naruto was hauled in from his latest escape attempt.
He raised an eyebrow at the sight of the boy who appeared to have been wrapped tightly in rope, then stuffed into a straightjacket and then secured with manacles that were sealed with explosive tags to prevent tampering.
He glanced at the mouse masked ANBU and got a shrug in return.
"Naruto Uzumaki" Sarutobi said firmly. "I have a mission that requires your unique talents."
"Bite me, old man!" Naruto snapped back.
"Tempting, but there are several kunoichi who are willing to fill that need for me at the moment." Sarutobi rebutted dryly.
"Your mission is the infiltration of an enemy village; Once inside you are to investigate this man." Sarutobi continued as he slid a picture across the desk.
"He is a part of our intelligence network but we have recently received information that leads us to believe that he is a double agent. We want you to find proof. If he is a double agent he is to be eliminated. Since you are not yet experienced enough to do this sort of thing on your own we are removing you from Team 7 for the duration of this mission. You will be reporting to Anko.
Any questions?" Sarutobi finished and took another puff from his pipe.
"So" Naruto said slowly. "You're tired of me escaping from the village so you're sending me out of it?" He smiled brightly. "OK!"
Sarutobi smirked. "Indeed we are, but in order to get paid for this A rank mission you have to do the job and come back when you're done."
Naruto's smile dropped. "You scheming bastard!" He accused. "That's low even for you!"
"Calm down brat" Anko said from her chair in the corner. "This was my idea, anyone who can evade a squad of hunter nin for over a month has a future in my particular kind of work." She smirked. "Besides, this way you get to spend more time out of the village than in it without occupying the hunter nin."