A/N: A big thank you to Iluvninjas, Silvermane1, Cows0816, KitElizaKing, Prescritpo13, J0hnni and Ramen-luver101 for reviewing the last chapter. As for the people who didn't hopefully this time you will! Go on, I love getting feedback!

Journey of the Jinchuriki

Chapter 5 – Unexpected Encounter

That night Naruto took first watch while Minoru-sensei slept. He sat on one of the tree branches, leaning back comfortably as he gazed up at the night sky. It was a warm night for a change. The moon hung high in the sky, a perfect silver disk, bleaching the land into a ghost-like replica of daytime. The stars surrounding it twinkling brightly, just like they did every night.

The familiar sight brought a sense of peace inside him, causing a smile to grace his face. For a moment, no matter how brief it was, it actually helped him disregard all his troubles. Though when it had passed he felt his head pile up with them again.

They'd been wandering from one place to another for more than four years now. During those four years he'd seen what the world was like. Even now, after all this time, he still couldn't decide whether or not it'd been a good idea to leave the Fire Temple all those years back.

He'd seen things that'd brought a smile to his face. Almost instantly his mind conjured up flashbacks…

Happy families who clearly loved each other… Children he'd seen laughing… Friends teasing each other… People helping one another… Complete strangers being nice…

Then there'd been the bad things. Things that'd shocked him, completely ruining the whole peaceful image…

Destroyed families… Children crying… Widows… Orphans… Poverty… Hate… Revenge… Death… Fighting… Enmity… Destruction… Torture… Cruelty… Prejudice... War…

The list just seemed to never end.

It soon became painfully obvious to him that the world he'd spent most of his childhood wanting to see wasn't as peaceful as he'd hoped. This conclusion filled him with a deep sense of sadness and somewhat regret.

There was too much hate in their world, more than he thought was healthy. Seeing firsthand what that hate was capable of had left his head reeling for days.

It was a blessing to know that people like his father had existed. Someone who'd sacrificed their life for the sake of their loved ones without any hesitation. He was proud of what his father had done. It could only take a great man to do such an honourable deed.

As soon as the thought left him he felt empty, totally empty. He had no aim, no purpose in life and it was driving him insane.

Minoru-sensei was getting old as well; he couldn't keep running from one place to another forever. It wouldn't be fair. After taking care of him for the past sixteen years he deserved a break, even though no matter what he did nothing could compare to what his sensei had done for him. The man had ditched everything for his sake. His home, his duties, his life, everthing... He'd sacrificed it all just to keep him from harm. The least he could do now was give a little back.

But what could he do? He'd asked himself this question a thousand times, but nothing had come to mind.

It was difficult considering their situation. With Minoru-sensei listed as a rogue-nin they couldn't even risk staying in one place for more than a day or two. It was also the reason why they had to dress so mysteriously. He'd been lumbered with the mask as soon as they'd seen the wanted posters while sensei had opted to wear a cloak. It didn't help that he resembled his father so much. If any of the ninja from Konoha had recognised either of them they would've been in a mess.

He sighed, looking down at his sensei who was currently fast asleep. Seeing the peaceful look on his face Naruto's eyes softened considerably.

He wasn't going to give up. Maybe not right now, but one day the answer would come to him, he was sure of it. There was no way he was letting his sensei down, not after everything the man had done for him. He was his sensei's student and the son of the late Fourth Hokage, after all.

Suddenly his keen hearing picked up sounds of screaming and stood up instantly. Looking down at his sensei who was still asleep he decided not to wake him, rapidly going through the hand signs to create a genjutsu barrier around him. This way if anyone happened to pass by they wouldn't be able to see him.

Turning away Naruto strapped his sword holder onto his back, heading in the direction he'd heard the yelling. As he neared he began to feel uneasy. Judging from the chakra signatures he was picking up there were six of them in total. He hid behind a tree, looking out at the open field where he could see what was going on without being seen. He'd already hidden his Chakra signature so no one would be able to detect him.

The first person he noticed with surprise was the same guy he'd seen earlier - Kakashi Hatake. He stood in front of a wounded pink-haired, young woman who was currently healing herself. Standing close to them were two dark-haired males who looked worn out as well. One of them had the Sharingan, he concluded. All four of them stood facing two other guys who were obviously the enemy.

"Give up, Deidara. You're not going to get away this time," Kakashi called out, the Sharingan in his right eye visible.

Deidara threw back his head and started to laugh. "Oh, give it a rest, Hatake," he sounded amused. "You can't defeat us. We're too powerful."

"We'll see about that," Kakashi narrowed his eyes dangerously, moving to attack.

He went straight for the other guy accompanying Deidara - a hunchback wearing a mask - with the pink-haired woman bringing up the rear. The two dark-haired guys settled for Deidara.

"Sasori, my man," Deidara smirked, his right hand moving suspiciously. "Let's take these fools down."

With that said he threw what looked like shaped clay at them. They jumped out of the way just in time as whatever it was exploded.

A large white bird swooped down out of nowhere. Deidara jumped on top of it, taking to the air. One of the dark-haired guys took out a scroll, quickly creating a large bird made of ink. Both guys jumped on, chasing after him.

Meanwhile Kakashi and the pink-haired woman were having trouble with Sasori - who it turns out was actually a puppet with a lethal tail in disguise. He released numerous poisoned needles from his mouth as Kakashi and the pink-haired woman attempted to dodge them.

Watching the fight progress with narrowed eyes Naruto watched Kakashi powering up a lightning jutsu in his hand, heading straight for Sasori. The lethal tail shot out, directly making contact with Kakashi. A wooden log appeared, indicating he'd used a substitution jutsu.

"Sakura," Kakashi called out. "NOW!"

The pink-haired woman, who it turns out was called Sakura, appeared behind Sasori, launching a chakra enhanced fist into his back. The puppet disbanded, pieces flying all over the place. A figure dressed in a hooded, black cloak appeared from inside, landing on the ground a small distance away.

Kakashi and Sakura waited impatiently for whoever it was to expose their face. When the hood finally lowered, they looked taken aback. A red-haired teenage boy with brown eyes looked back at them.

"I must commend you on destroying Hiruko," Sasori commented calmly. "However, this is only just the beginning." From his sleeve he pulled out a scroll which he opened. There was a poof of smoke as another puppet appeared.

Kakashi's eyes widened, as if he recognised it. "That's the Third Kazekage," he looked stunned.

Sasori nodded, completely unfazed. He twisted around, launching the puppet at them. It came at them with incredible speed, only just giving them the chance to blink. As it neared them the arm lashed out, releasing poisoned, sharp blades. They barely leapt out of the way as the blades connected with the ground mere seconds later.

While they were still on the move the other arm shot out, releasing dozens of hands which shot forward. They were headed straight for Sakura. Kakashi managed to push her out of the way at the very last second with the help of a clone. As soon as it was hit the clone vanished.

Naruto frowned when the air abruptly filled with purple smoke - poisoned smoke to be exact.

Kakashi had no time to shout out a warning, closing his mouth instantly. Sakura, on the other hand, had managed to get herself tangled up in ropes and was trapped. Kakashi made a move to help her, but was in a predicament of his own. The puppet had released what looked strangely like black coloured sand and it was headed straight for him…

A/N: Hmm, bet none of you were expecting a fight so early in the story! Please review! I'll be looking forward to reading them. ^_^