I don't own Naruto

Chapter 5

A lazy afternoon had descended on the village of Konoha. The sun was sweltering down on the residents, who had for the most part taken shade in their homes. It was as if the spirit of the Nara had possessed the masses as they laid content on the floors of their tatami mats.

On this hot day Naruto found himself lying in a cold orchard just on the outskirts of the city. Oranges hung above his head and he gazed at them longingly. But he was too comfortable to try and get up, much less climb the tree to pick them.

A babbling brook sang a soothing lullaby and he relaxed to its rhythm until he was as still as a rock.

Nearby Hinata was foraging for mushrooms. It was the perfect season for Konoha's famous sweet cap mushrooms and she had looked forward to making a stew with them.

As she cleared put the final mushroom in front of her in her basket, she looked around to find no more in sight. Making the appropriate hand sign to mold the chakra she said, "Byakugan!"

Immediately she located another bunch a fair bit to the west. In her periphery she was mildly aware of Naruto. Over time she had grown used to using her Byakugan around him, but the sheer concentration of his chakra was still astonishing to look at.

But something was off. She turned her full attention towards the laid boy. Behind his bright aura, some distance away she became aware of approaching chakra signatures. They were quite blurry, which meant they were outside her operating range, but they seemed to be fast approaching.

'Shinobi' Hinata thought, as her mind flashed back to the night she had been nearly kidnapped. 'It's probably Konoha shinobi', she told herself reassuringly. Enemy shinobi rarely ever strayed so deep into Konoha territory, and her family did allow her to come this far so it should be safe.

Regardless she quickened her pace and approached Naruto. By this point it was clear to her that the shinobi were clearly heading for them. Reaching Naruto, she said softly, "Naruto-kun, there are 3 shinobi approaching us. Stay on guard."

Naruto jolted out of his lazy stupor and his body tightened. His natural instinct was picking them up too now. He threw a quick glance around the orchard, looking for a place where he would have an advantage in a fight.

Unfortunately, the orchard seemed to be similar to Battle Scenario A, that Iruka sensei had gone over in class, no particular imbalances in the environment. A straight fight. But Naruto and Hinata were not shinobi yet and if it came down to that then he was sure they would need to flee. Instinctively he stepped closer to the girl, who has herself taken a closed stance with few openings.

The approaching shinobi became visible a few hundred meters away, as his eyes caught them running towards them through the shrubbery. It was immediately clear to him that they weren't wearing standard Konoha colors.

"Hinata run!" he exclaimed. They were still about a half a minute away even at top pace. But turning around and running was not an option for both of them, it would leave them vulnerable to kunai.

Behind him Hinata didn't move. He didn't expect her to, but he did need her to. Iruka sensei had explained to them the threat of enemy shinobi. As genin they were expected to fight defensively and have the sensei handle the enemy.

But they didn't have a sensei yet. They weren't even genin. That was still a long way off. Which meant they were unprepared to handle this.

The ninja were close enough for Naruto to make out their head-bands now. The symbol wasn't a leaf, but it was familiar. Naruto couldn't remember which village it belonged to. Their clothes seemed to be torn, as if they'd been in a fight. The one running on the right seemed to be fairly wounded but the others seemed ok.

"There!" one of them exclaimed. "Look those are the kids I sensed. We have hostages now."

"Good job Kindaichi. That should buy us some time."

"Hinata get away!" he exclaimed. If she started running now perhaps, he could buy her a few seconds. He glanced back at her, to implore her only to find her seemingly rooted.

"Hinata, what's wrong?"

Hinata had fallen into a near catatonic state. Her body seemed to be shivering ever so slightly, and her eyes which were generally serene were unfocused and lost.

Naruto shoved her away from him, and spoke. "Hinata go! If all they need is a hostage perhaps they'll let you leave. You can get me help now leave!"

Thankfully Hinata seemed to nod mutely and took off. The lead ninja spotted her running away and threw a kunai in her direction. Luckily Naruto was able to barely intercept it, but at the cost of his hand as the weapon pierced his left palm. The shinobi seemed to grunt int frustration as Hinata managed to disappear into the forest towards Konoha.

But they had already lost some time, and he would need to make time for her some-how. He looked at the three approach. They were running in fast and he had a few seconds to figure out what he would do

The one on the right, the injured one looked like running was still quite a task for him. His arms bloodied, one looked badly mauled. The ninja seemed unable to hold up a proper guard.

As a boy of 10 there was little Naruto could do to directly spar with them. But Hinata was fairly fast herself, a few second would be enough to get her to the village. All he needed to do was capture their attention for that long. He reached his right hand behind him and into his pouch holding on to a single kunai.

Then he waited as the approaching shinobi came closer still. They were running at him with reckless zeal, and he would exploit that opening.

As soon as the one to the right was a few strides away, Naruto lunged towards the man as fast as he could, his kunai outstretched. The man suddenly found himself at the sharp end of a fast-approaching kunai, without working arms to put up a guard. With a grim satisfaction Naruto felt his kunai pierce the man's vest, driven both by Naruto's force and the man's own momentum.

Naruto's satisfaction was short-lived as all of a sudden, all the air was forced out of his lungs. His body seemed to flail and his mind fell into a complete disarray. He found himself with his teeth stuck in dirt and barely able to breathe.

Almost immediately the lead shinobi had kicked Naruto to the ground and pinned him. The injured shinobi coughed up blood and fell to his knees as the third one rushed to his assistance.

The shinobi with who had his body pressed on Naruto's back twisted Naruto's hand painfully. Naruto felt so much pain simultaneously that he could process none of it, the pain numbed his mind to protect his sanity. "So, we got a 'shinobi' brat huh. You're lucky we need you as a hostage kid. But you're going to pay for that attack." The man pulled out a kunai and carved out the arm Naruto had used to stab the enemy. Naruto felt a red-hot ringing of pain, before all of a sudden, his arm went cold and felt sensationless.

"Let's see how you enjoy that. Kindaichi, how's Haru doing? Think he'll make it."

The man called Kindaichi replied, "Looks like the kid managed to get him good. He's barely conscious. He can't be saved, not here, not now."

"Well, we can't have him giving Konoha any secrets."

Kindachi nodded grimly and slit Haru's throat. He held the man as he struggled and thrashed before passing on. Then, "What do we do Takashi?"

"Well, we have a hostage now. A shinobi at that. I say we take off back towards Kumo. If we run into any Konoha shinobi we can use this brat's life as bargain."

"Raikage-sama is not going to be pleased. Shouldn't we try and finish the mission?"

"No way. Konoha knew we were coming. For weak-willed rats, their spy network always seems to be one step ahead of ours. We would have lost our lives if we hadn't gotten lucky. Let's just get back to Kumo and tell the Raikage our mission was compromised."

Takashi slinged Naruto's now un-conscious body over his shoulder. Then the two shinobi from Kumo set off away from Konoha.

-Page Break-

Hinata ran as fast as she could away from the fight. Her mind was shattered, memories of her childhood swirling strong in her head. The symbol of Kumo prominent in her mind. The same symbol that these shinobi had on their heads, and the same symbol that had scared her so terribly that tragic night.

Far off in the distance behind her she made out an almost animalistic scream of pain. It shook her to the core, because she recognized the voice of Naruto. And she knew she needed to turn back. Save her friend. Her… savior.

But she couldn't. She couldn't find it in herself to engage the shinobi from Kumo. And the concoction of fear stirring in her heart reacted wildly with her guilt and shame. She had without hesitation left behind her best friend.

But she kept running. Getting back to Konoha quickly was the only other way to help Naruto-kun. And even though she could never call herself his friend again, she was determined to make sure he survived.

Tears streamed down her face, as the little girl who had lost her best friend now ran to save his life.

-Page Break-

"Takashi, this kid's chakra…"

"What about it?"

"It's massive. He seems to have jonin-level reserves."

"What?" Takashi momentarily looked sideways at Kindaichi to check if he was being serious. The man running beside him had a no-nonsense look on his face.

"Yeah. It's probably why I was able to sense him from such a distance. He probably couldn't mask his chakra at all."

"But chakra reserves that massive. In Konoha…" Takashi mused on the thought. "…could any of those Uzumaki bastards have survived?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe Tsunade Senju had a kid. The kid is blonde.", Kindaichi replied.

"Well, that's unlikely if our intelligence about her is accurate. Though given the debacle today I can't say I trust out intelligence very much anymore."

"Yeah."

"Well, if so, he'll be an asset to Kumo if we can get him all the way there. If we can't brainwash him, we could use him to breed at-least."

"I suppose so", Kindaichi replied sounding disturbed. Takashi scoffed. Kindachi had always been a bit too soft for a shinobi.

"You know you really shoul…"

Before he could finish his option, he found his shoulder lighter. To his horror he realized the kid had vanished. Next to him Kindaichi had vanished as well. Realizing what was happening he glanced upward and braced for an attack.

He saw a fist heading straight for his face. In the single frame he saw, he could make out long silver hair. Then it all went dark as the man was knocked unconscious.

-Page Break-

Naruto slipped in and out of consciousness, before finally he was able to wake up. Slowly the blinding light became tolerable, and he was able to comprehend sound. He was distinctly aware he was under great pain, but his mind somehow allowed him to ignore it.

Naruto could make out a man next to him, who seemed to be wrapping up his right arm. He glanced down at his right hand, and the bandages it was wrapped it were already soaked in blood.

"Where am I?"

"Calm down child. We're at Konoha outpost 211. I'm a medic and I'm treating your injuries, so I'm going to need you to be very still for me."

Naruto couldn't quite make out every word, but he made out the words Konoha. So, these people were allies. He relaxed.

Slowly he grew more aware of his surroundings. They were in some forest of Konoha, the trees were definitely too tall to be anywhere else. It was still late afternoon, so he hadn't been unconscious for too long. He was propped against a tree as the medic worked on his arm.

At some distance a man dressed in bright red with a mane of long silver hair seemed to be going off on a group of shinobi. They cowered as the man towered over them.

"…Jiraiya-sama. We did things exactly as instructed. We managed to eliminate most of the strike team. This group must have had a powerful sensor because they were on guard as soon as we began to converge on them."

"I'm afraid that isn't enough Ume-san. The intelligence we had should have been enough to neutralize the threat effectively. Also, that doesn't explain why no-one followed in pursuit."

"They caught the squad that marked them off guard. A few of its members were injured. The others decided to bring them to medical help first."

Jiraiya considered this for a few seconds. Then he let out a sigh and briefly nodded, "it's true that we tell our shinobi to value each other's lives. But your judgement was skewed in this instance. We are very close to Konoha from this outpost. By letting the enemy go you put civilians at risk. You will receive a temporary demotion Ume-san."

Ume-san glanced at Naruto and back at Jiraiya. "I apologize for my mistake. It will not be repeated."

"Your heart was in the right place. In the extra time you have while demoted, it would serve you well to read up on your tactics."

"Yes Sir!"

Jiraiya nodded at the squad and dismissed them. As they went back to work, Jiraiya approached Naruto. First, he addressed the medic, "His arm?"

"Nerve damage is extensive. Complete loss of motor control. Partial loss of sensation."

"Is it permanent?"

"To the extent of my understanding yes."

"Can you release him to me?"

"Yes Jiraiya-sama. I've done the best I can. I would ask that he not exert himself for a few weeks." The medic bowed politely and left the two alone.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya closely. He was still a bit delirious from the incident, but he could comprehend enough to understand that this was the ranking shinobi at the outpost.

"Did Hinata make it back fine?"

"Hinata? You mean the Hyūga princess? Yes, she made it back to the village. Was in quite the hurry. Approached the gate shouting for help. Luckily, I had just arrived and could help out. You should thank her later; she probably saved your life."

Naruto smiled. "I guess I owe her another one then. About my arm…"

"We'll discuss that later Naruto", the man called Jiraiya said firmly but kindly.

Naruto nodded. "Who are you?"

Jiraiya gave Naruto a smile as. It reminded Naruto of the Hokage's grandfatherly affection, but this smile seemed even more familial. "I'm the gallant toad sage, Jiraiya", he said theatrically striking a pose.

"Whoa. Sage? You mean like Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"You've heard of me?", Jiraiya exclaimed excitedly as he crouched down to Naruto's level.

"Yeah! In class at the academy."

"You've been paying attention then! Good job kiddo!"

"Did you save me?", Naruto asked excitedly.

"As a matter of fact, I did Naruto", Jiraiya replied ruffling Naruto's hair.

Naruto bowed his head. He winced as his body ached all over from the movement, but he thanked the man just as Hinata had taught him it was polite to do, "Thankyou Jiraiya-sama. I was very… very scared. Thankyou for saving my life."

He looked up at the man. To his surprise Jiraiya had tears streaming down his face. Not quite sure what to say, Naruto stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

"Naruto… listen to me. You must never thank me again. I- I should have never let this happen in the first place", Jiraiya said softly.

Naruto didn't quite understand what the man meant.

"You should sleep now Naruto. When you wake up, we'll leave for Konoha."

The man's voice was warm and reassuring, and it didn't take the tired Naruto much time to be lulled into sleep. A peaceful sleep descended on the boy.

-Page Break-

Jiraiya's clones made another round of the perimeter. Night had fallen and its cover would do well to hide his actions. Once he was convinced no one was around, and none of the Konoha shinobi had gotten curious, he turned his attention to Naruto.

The boy was breathing shallow, he probably had cracked a few ribs. Seeing him in so much pain was unbearable to Jiraiya, which is why he had sent away the Konoha shinobi for some privacy.

Reaching into his memories from a decade ago, Jiraiya recalled the key to the Kyubi seal. Minato had a done a good job, the Kyuubi's signature was almost non-existent in Naruto, the fox was sealed tightly shut. But Jiraiya needed the tailed beast's healing properties right now. Even with Naruto's vitality as a Uzumaki, healing from the nerve damage was impossible. Perhaps the Kyuubi's chakra would do the trick.

Naruto's shirt had been taken off for the treatment, and so Jiraiya placed a palm on the boy's stomach. He channeled some chakra making the seal visible.

He then inserted the key, and turned it ever so slightly. Almost immediately he was aware of the thick malicious chakra that began circulating through Naruto's body.

But it was working. Most of Naruto's wounds vanished immediately, he could hear the ribs cracking into place. Unfortunately, while the wound over the arm did heal itself superficially, specific nerve damage seemed to persist. The nerves had been cleanly cut, almost maliciously, to paralyze the boy. Without knowing how to correct itself, the body had no chance of healing successfully.

Realizing that keeping the chakra going wasn't going to heal the boy, Jiraiya locked the seal again. His mind thundered with anger at the shinobi who had done this to Naruto, and he regretted not ending the two men's life immediately. He shook his head, the information they would provide could save lives, and the torture was a plus.

It did nothing to alleviate his frustrations. Furious but careful not to disturb Naruto, Jiraiya leaped to the top of a tall tree nearby. Then looking up at the sky he let out a roar of anger and resentment, towards the Hokage, towards Konoha, and above all towards himself.

The gallant toad sage who normally brought energy and morale to every fight, was a despondent figure that night.

Chapter 5 End.