AN: Chapter. Yay!
Naruto:
The teenager stepped out into the cold night air and breathed deeply. He had been planning tonight for months, ever since discovering how to fly. He made one final check to ensure he had what he needed, then set off into the night.
The leaf village was quite a sight in the evening, still bustling and vibrant well into the night. The blonde desperately wanted to stop at Ichiraku for a bowl of their seafood special, but he didn't dare risk it. The young ninja wanted to set off from a place where he rarely went, and would therefore be least likely to be recognized. The teen ducked into an alleyway that ran along the side of a small bath-house. It was fairly exclusively used by temporary residents, so he had never been, Kimimaru had mentioned that it was a nice place though. For a moment, Naruto almost regretted not having tried it out, then he caught himself. He was dangerously close to getting nostalgic for the place, and that would not do at all.
The boy kept walking until he found an area that was completely deserted, standing in the shadow cast by the high stone wall of the bath-house. For the first time, Naruto allowed his chakra to flow through his eyes in public, letting his rinnegan activate. The relief was instantaneous, while Naruto had practiced keeping his eyes turned off at all times throughout the last year, it was a definitively uncomfortable exercise, and allowing his chakra to flow was the same kind of relief as removing his shoes after a long day. Nonetheless, Naruto covered his eyes with his hands, not wanting to risk even the slightest chance of being seen in this state. Naruto had decided this needed to be done quickly; the barrier all around the village would warn them of his departure near instantaneously, and he wanted to be long gone.
Naruto built up his power like a charge, holding it tightly within himself. His eyes closed, Naruto took in one last breath, enjoying the innately leaf village smells of old timber, fried food and cut grass, before expressing his power outwards and launching himself into the sky.
Deep in the great command complex at the centre of the leaf village, a masked man gave a surprised yelp. "The barrier is compromised," the man said immediately. "A single individual, traveling at high speeds."
"What direction?" Another man, one of the Nara tactical division, asked.
"Straight upwards," the sensor replied. "Traveling away from the village. It's at least Jonin level."
The tactics division member raised a small device to his lips, speaking into it. "We have a breach, top point of the spere. Sending aerial response group two to investigate at speed."
The whole exchange, from recognizing the breach, to initiating a response, barely took three seconds. Naruto was already long gone.
Unnoticed by the citizenry of the leaf village, near the entire ninja population of the leaf stirred into motion, frantically responding to the unknown threat as they searched the entire village. It was Shikamaru Nara who first decided to check Naruto's apartment, finding it deserted and emptied of Naruto's personal arsenal of equipment.
Before the morning sun had even risen, a search party had been organized. Team eight, the leaf sensory squad, accompanied by the newly returned Sakura Haruno. Their command was simple, bring Naruto Namikaze back home. There was just one problem.
"I don't get it," Kiba growled in frustration. "His scent is clear as day right up to this spot, but then it just straight up disappears!"
"Not quite," Shino murmured quietly, small insects flittering through the air around him, tasting it. "He didn't vanish, he went upwards. There's a faint chakra trail heading into the sky. I think we found our barrier breach."
"Since when can Naruto fly?" Kiba asked, surprised. Hinata and Sakura both shot the boy an irritated look. "What?" He asked, defensive. "It's a legit question."
Hinata shook her head. "Why are you so surprised?" She asked tiredly. "Naruto gets new powers all the time, remember the chunin exam? You should just learn to go with it."
Sakura nodded her agreement. "Honestly, I'm kind of over it by now. Sasuke and Naruto never stopped learning new abilities, being on a team with them was exhausting."
Kiba smirked at her. "This coming from miss cannon girl."
Sakura shrugged. "I never said I was any different. I had to keep learning new stuff to keep up with them, like so." Sakura raised a hand to her mouth and bit down on her thumb, before pressing it to the floor.
"Summoning Jutsu: Sensor frog."
On the ground before them, in a puff of white smoke, appeared a large green frog, about the size of a chicken. Sakura crouched down to speak with it.
"See that chakra trail?" She asked, pointing to the spot Shino's bugs had indicated. "I need you to point me where it leads." The small creature nodded, its eyes tracking along some unseen path into the sky. After several silent moments, the frog turned, hopping once or twice, to face the east. "Thank you," said Sakura with a smile. The frog gave a small croak before it disappeared. "Let's go." The pink haired girl said, standing up.
In silence, the Naruto recovery team departed into the night.
Days Earlier:
Sasuke stood, panting, in the centre of the training room. Opposite him, allowing himself just the smallest of grins, stood Itachi. "Well you sure got stronger, didn't you?"
"What?" Sasuke asked. "You thought Kurama was gonna go easy on me?" Sasuke tried not to show it, but he was very proud of himself in that moment. Since their arrival in the wave village, Itachi and Kurama had been alternating months training him. Itachi had focused on martial technique and Sharingan use, Kurama had focused on building up his chakra reserves and had taught him one or two… unusual jutsu.
Itachi's face grew serious. "No, and I'm glad he didn't. We're out of time."
Sasuke stood just a little straighter. In the months where Kurama trained the boy, his older brother tended to vanish, saying that he was off to 'gather information,' he never returned smiling. "What have you found out?" Sasuke asked quietly.
"Akatsuki's readying to attack," Itachi answered. "They're finally finished replacing their lost members and they've deployed."
"Are they after Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "They know he isn't a Jinchuuriki anymore, right?"
"I don't see why they should." Came a rumbling voice from nearby. "As far as they know, I was sealed back into Naruto's body immediately by Kakashi and Jiraiya. All they know for sure is that Kisame wound up buried under a pile of rubble and there was no sign of a rampaging tailed beast anywhere. They wouldn't expect me to go into hiding for a year."
"They'll probably be after Naruto," Itachi conceded with a nod. "We're out of training time, let's go save our brother."
"Does this mean you'll finally undo this wretched seal?" Kurama asked, gesturing at the black markings that covered the whole of his form.
"Why would I do that?" Itachi murmured, smiling. "I like you small, Kurama, you're easier to trust this way. Besides, the moment you regain your full size, we lose the option of stealth. Let's keep it as a last resort."
The kyuubi grumbled under his breath, stalking off to the cellar for some meat.
"Get yourself ready," Itachi said, returning his attention to his brother. "We head out tonight."
Sasuke nodded, grinning. He was more than ready for this.
Spy:
The four ninja moved in silence through the forest, emerging at the small clearing on the outskirts of the leaf village. The de facto leader of the small group, his black and white cape fluttering slightly in the breeze, raised his face to the sky. "Good Job newbie," he murmured. "That passoword got us through the barrier without being seen. If you keep this up, I might not even kill you after this."
"Charming, Kakuzu," Said the man's partner, grinning back towards the two new members. "Don't worry new guy. If Kakuzu really wanted to kill ya, he wouldn't warn you first."
Under his disguise, Kakashi Hatake rolled his eyes before replying in a deep voice that felt utterly unfamiliar to him. "Thanks. I feel so much safer now." He injected as much sarcasm as he could into the statement. His new partner chuckled, her face concealed by the cowl of her hood. So far, his impromptu plan was working perfectly, he had made sure to guide the small group towards the village by way of Kosuke's clearing, trusting in the old ninja to raise the alarm without tipping the others off. He only hoped the old man had already been out hunting his supper when they passed through. Kakashi glanced at the small bundle of sticks at the centre of the clearing. Judging by the presence of fresh firewood, Kosuke had been present when they arrived. Luckily, he had yet to arrange the pile for a fire, and so it had not attracted attention.
Kakuzu stared for a brief moment. Kakashi, looking in the same direction, understood why. Was that a person, rising through the air like that? It was so quick, he might have missed it had he not been on guard for such things. Kakashi had to restrain a groan when he saw the brief flash of yellow hair. Why was it not surprising that Naruto, of all people, could suddenly fly?
"I have a sneaking suspicion," Said Kakashi's partner. "That we just found our target." As if to punctuate the young woman's words, the boy floating above the village began to move, shooting to the east at an incredible pace.
In silence, the four ninja gave chase.
Kosuke gave his warning directly to the Hokage who, for his part, did not overreact. Two crises in the space of five minutes, just the sort of thing he was paid to deal with. Without hesitation, Hiruzen dispatched team Guy, supported by a small group of his personal ANBU, to track and contain the Akatsuki threat.
Naruto descended to the ground rapidly. He had flown far faster than he ever had before, and the effort was surprisingly exhausting. Luckily, the boy felt relatively sure that he had escaped notice. It wouldn't be too much of an issue if he had to walk for a while. The boy took his time, trudging slowly along the forest path, concealing his eyes once more as he travelled. It took them almost an hour to catch up with him.
To Hidan's credit, Naruto would not have noticed his approach without help. Kakashi and his partner hung back slightly, upon Kakuzu's instruction. Allowing the other two Akatsuki to make their move. There was a brief, silent exchange in whick Kakuzu and Hidan appeared to be playing paper scissors rock. Hidan won. Kakuzu shrugged, stepping back and allowing his partner the attack.
Naruto, blissfully unaware, walked through the forest in silence, gazing up at the stars. Hidan crept towards the boy, great red scythe held at the ready. This was bad, Kakashi knew, very bad. Kakashi decided, he knew what to do. He would pretend to make a blunder, to stumble or trip over a tree root. He only needed to make enough noise to get Naruto to turn around. Kakashi cast an eye over the forest floor, finding a suitable looking twig to step on. Before he could act, however, his partner, seemingly by accident, kicked a small pebble as she walked. The tiny rock flew into the air, clattering down along the path as it landed before coming to a halt. Kakashi turned his head, cocking an eyebrow towards his companion. Was that….? Kakuzu gave Kakashi's suspicious new partner a glare that promised punishment in the extreme.
For his part, Naruto started at the sound, turning and catching sight of the looming, scythe wielding figure standing a few feet back from him, weapon already raised to strike. Quite understandably, the boy let out a high pitched yelp of alarm. Far less understandably, he raised a hand, squeezed his eyes shut and did… something. Whatever it was, it worked. An invisible wave of force caught the surprised murderer around the midsection, launching him backwards along the path by quite a distance.
Kakashi watched, stunned. The other two, less aquainted with Naruto's supposed skill set, were less taken aback. Naruto turned and ran, Kakuzu and the mysterious other girl giving chase, followed in short order by Kakashi and a very unsettlingly happy Hidan. "Oh, this is gonna be so fun!" Hidan said, grinning madly as he caught up with Kakashi. "The boy's mine though, remember that, newbie!"
Behin them, the pursuing ANBU squad, accompanied by team Guy, gave chase. Unknown to anyone present. Sakura, accompanied by the sensory team, wasn't far behind.
"Hang on," Hinata said quietly, her Byakugan drawing strange lines across her face as she searched the road ahead. "Someone's fighting over there!" The girl pointed. It was all they needed to hear. The four ninja broke into a run.
"So," Sasuke said, deciding he may as well make some conversation as the three of them walked. "You're saying we should just disguise ourselves, walk in to the village, and snatch Naruto without anyone being any the wiser?"
"Yup," Itachi said, smiling. "Couldn't be simpler."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I see absolutely no way in which this plan could go awry."
Itachi sighed. "Look, Sasuke, I know sometimes things can get complicated for us-"
"Like when you let your teammate sedate us?" Sasuke asked pointedly.
Itachi took a deep breath, Sasuke had refused to let that one go. "Yes," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Like when Kisame betrayed us. But things don't always have to go wrong, you know. As long as we're all carefull, there is no reason this plan won't work."
"One," Sasuke said under his breath. "Two."
"What are you doing?" Kurama asked, walking beside the boy.
"Counting the seconds till the plan goes wrong," Sasuke answered. "Three."
"Jesus, when did you turn into such a brat?" Itachi asked, shooting his brother an irritated glance.
"Teenagers," Kurama said, chuckling.
"Four," said Sasuke, ignoring them. "Five."
"For the love of- Stop counting!" Itachi snapped. "Nothing's going to go wrong with my plan, okay?"
Almost on cue, a loud yelp sounded in the distance, followed by a quiet 'Whumpf' of something hitting the ground and the stamping of feet.
"Five seconds," Sasuke said, folding his arms. "I got to five."
"Shut up," said Itachi tiredly, drawing a kunai. "My plan didn't go wrong, we didn't even start the plan."
A young figure emerged from the treeline, running towards the three of them full pelt. All three companions recognized his mop of yellow hair immediately. They dashed forwards to intercept the boy.
"Naruto!" Kurama practically shouted, blocking his path. "What's wrong? Tell me what happened." Itachi and Sasuke moved to either side of Naruto, gazing intently at him.
Naruto, panting very slightly from his short but desperate sprint, pointed behind him.
Itachi felt his heart sink as they emerged. Akatsuki, four of them. Two he recognized, Kakuzu and Hidan, Powerfull, but lacking subtlety. He was confident he could deal with either one of them, Kurama could likely handle the other. The other two though, they were unknown. Unknown was never good with Akatsuki.
"Sasuke, Naruto," Itachi said quietly. "Get behind us, Kurama and I can handle these four."
"Can we?" Kurama asked, moving with him to stand in front of the two boys.
"Probably," Itachi muttered so that only the fox could hear. "I might have to use Kotoamatsukami though, not what I was hoping for."
"Hey," muttered Hidan, sidling up to Kakuzu as they faced off against the two surprising new adversaries. "Is it just me, or is that the Nine Tails over there?"
"Appears to be," Kakuzu replied, hiding his confusion with expert care. "I guess our job just got complicated."
"Yeah," Hidan said, snickering slightly. "Looks that wa-"
"Sorry, but this is the best chance I'll get." Kakashi interrupted before thrusting his fist, encased in an arcing blue energy, straight through hidan's chest. The man stared down at the hole in his torso, the man's arm still embedded in his heart.
"Well thank goodness you attacked ME with that," he said conversationally. "If you'd gone for Kakuzu, you might have achieved something." Reaching up, Hidan grasped his attacker's wrist, stopping him when he tried to pull back. With his other hand, the undying ninja raised his scythe, ready to swing. "Bye now."
Kakuzu shook his head in annoyance. "Stop playing with your food," he muttered, stepping forwards to face Itachi and the fox.
Hidan laughed, swinging the great blade down towards both the traitor and himself. To be fair to him, of the two targets he had been aiming for, he did hit one of them. The scythe caught him in the middle, embedding into his stomach. On an unrelated note, the arm he had been using to hold the traitor in place fell to the ground with a thud.
Kakashi landed some distance away, heart beating just a little faster than normal. "That was a close one," he admitted, turning to his partner. "So you're a spy too, I take it? Why else would you sever Hidan's arm for me?" The cloaked woman nodded, remaining silent. "I'm here for Jiraiya," Kakashi continued conversationally. "You?"
The woman hesitated for some time, considering her unexpected ally thoughtfully, before eventually, she shrugged. "I'm here for Lady Tsunade," she said, extending a hand, which Kakashi shook.
"Kakashi Hatake," The silver haired ninja introduced himself. "You?"
"Shizune," the woman replied, dropping into a combat stance beside him. "So, Hidan first?"
"Looks that way, yeah."
Shizune nodded.
Standing behind the protective barrier of Kurama and Itachi, Naruto groaned. This was the exact opposite of a stealthy exit.
AN: I have no things to say!
