Yes...this is very late. Yes, I'm sorry about that. Yes, I've been pretty busy. And yes, I'm still working on it. I'm uploading two chapters this time around because they were originally one chapter but morphed into a chapter so big that I decided to split it up. This is also part of why I didn't upload sooner. Double the work! In any case, I hope the double upload makes up for the long wait. Also, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I know those are very late holiday wishes, but I was genuinely hoping to get these out before those times. Unfortunately, they weren't quite done. But they're here now so at least there's that. Pleasantries aside, read on!

P.S.

HugeThanksToAllMyReadersAndToEveryoneWhoReadsAndReviews,PleaseDon'tForgetToLeaveAnotherOneKThanksBye.

The first priority to the ninja is to win without fighting.

- Masaaki Hatsumi

Into the Fire

"You're moving too fast," Kurama said. "If you look like you're moving faster than everyone else, you're painting a target on your back."

Naruto's jaw clenched as he focused forward, inhaling and slowing his pace ever so slightly. With each step, his body jerked awkwardly, his messed up leg resulting in a persistent limp. It was only now that Kurama wasn't in control that he realized how bad it was. Earlier, it felt like something was wrong, but only to the extent of being an annoying subdued pain. Now it felt like a bundle of needles was getting jammed into his knee. Every. Single. Time.

With a pained grimace, he set his face forward, groaning lightly as determination settled onto his features. "How far away is he now?"

Kurama sat in the chamber, eyes closed as he sat cross-legged with his hands folded in front of his body. A faint orange aura outlined his body as he sensed out the powerful chakra. "Not far enough..."

Naruto exhaled sharply, pushing his way around a rather large fellow in the crowds. Meanwhile, silent sizzling sounds resonated on every pore of his skin, a nearly invisible red chakra leaking from under his clothes.

"Take care of my leg first," he ordered.

"I'm working on it," Kurama replied. "In the meantime, find a disguise. Your hair makes you stick out like a bad genjutsu."

Naruto looked left and right, squinting as he tried to spot a disguise from any of the surrounding vendors. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up recently, which meant the dusty path was combining with the wind to coat the environment in a thin film of reddish-orange sand. Just his luck. Finally, he made out a clothes stand a few paces away. Multi-colored hats rested on a counter right below a row of multi-colored shirts. With his head held low, he forged ahead, eyeing the stand lowly. The hats grew nearer and nearer until, finally, one of them made its way into his hand. A quick spin later, it found itself on his head, the blond locks covered with dirty brown.

Up ahead he could see an intersection of foot traffic, orange-red dust coating the atmosphere as the swarms of people pushed past each other in the noonday sun. As he neared, he examined the two directions. The left path was more narrow than the one he was on currently, but the right grew even wider. "I'm going right," he said. "Maybe the crowds will give me some cover."

"Don't make it obvious."

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he pushed forward, body leaning to the right ever so slightly as his trajectory changed.

A few moments later, Kurama confirmed his worst fears. "He turned too."

"Crap," Naruto said. "He's onto us isn't he?"

"Most likely."

Naruto's frown grew as he picked up the pace, each foot crossing in front of the other just that tad bit quicker. "Why hasn't he done anything?"

"Maybe he's waiting for you to stop."

"What for?"

"I don't know, it could be a million things. Maybe he doesn't want to fight with a civilian population around, maybe he wants to have the element of surprise, or maybe he just doesn't want to cause a scene with you being a jinchuriki and all. There's really no way of knowing."

Naruto exhaled sharply, considering the situation for the briefest of moments. "If he's still tracking me, he has to be sensing you right now. I need to disappear completely."

"Negative. Your body is too banged up for a fight like this."

"I'll deal with it," he said firmly. "Now, stop healing me."

Kurama paused for a moment then frowned his displeasure. With a heavy sigh, he let his arms fall to his sides, the orange aura fading to black. "Fine..."

In steady waves, the dark pulse of chakra slowed until finally fading to nothing. Naruto's gaze narrowed. Good. One chakra system down. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, eyes falling shut as he prepared to mask his own...but there was no time. Before he could so much as blink, a series of shocked gasps left the crowd from some distance behind him. At the same time, he could feel an unmistakable spike in Jiraiya's chakra. One glance over his shoulder revealed that his worst fear had come to life. The gray-haired Toad Sage had taken to the rooftops and fallen into a run.

Naruto's jaw clenched and he turned back around, lips falling into a scowl. "We're busted aren't we?"

"What do you think?" Kurama retorted.

Without warning, Naruto broke into a run, arms falling to his sides as he sprinted forward, shocked gasps flying from the crowds as he split through them like a knife through butter.

"Narutooo!" he heard Jiraiya cry.

Naruto paid no mind, instead lowering himself even more into his sprint, arms trailing him like noodles as he weaved from side to side. A quick glance towards the rooftops revealed that Jiraiya was around a hundred feet away, gray hair flying in the wind as he sprinted along the edge of a two-story building. Despite the distance, he could see Jiraiya's gaze following him with relentless persistence, and for the briefest of moments, dark gray met sky blue in a silent exchange.

Turning his gaze back to the path, Naruto attempted to sidestep a clothes stand he didn't see coming. The sound of clattering hangers was the first sign he had failed. With an annoyed growl, he shoved the stand to the ground and kept running, ignoring the angered yell he could hear a few feet away. Angry vendors were the least of his problems.

"There's absolutely no way we're getting away from him!"

"Don't panic," Kurama said. "We're not caught yet."

"We might as well be!"

"Calm down," Kurama said firmly. "The only way we'll get caught for sure is if you panic and blow our chances of getting away."

"Tell me, Kurama, how do you plan on getting away from one of the legendary Sannin?!"

"By not panicking."

Naruto scoffed. "Great, just great."

"Now, first thing," Kurama said. "We're busted, so I'm gonna give you as much of my chakra as you need. That should help even out the playing field a bit."

"Nothing's gonna help when he finally catches up to us," Naruto mumbled.

"Are you done being a wimp?"

"I am not a wimp." Naruto defended.

"Then stop whining like one and let's get this done."

Naruto frowned at the ground then jerked his attention back to the road ahead. "...Fine."

"Now, if you look at the situation with a level head, you'll notice something."

"What?" he said sarcastically. "That I'm about to be captured?"

"He's not attacking," Kurama noted.

Naruto paused, then pondered the thought briefly, his eyes narrowing soon after. "But he's in range..."

"Exactly. Now, ask yourself why that's the case."

Naruto's brows pinched together as he pondered the new piece of information, analyzing it from every angle he could think of. Finally, his eyes widened. "The crowds..."

"Bingo. You used them before, and you're gonna use them again. You can't beat him head-on, but you might be able to beat him another way."

Naruto's gaze fell to the swiftly passing ground and his brows furrowed, mind racing through the endless possibilities.

"Whatever you end up doing, create confusion," Kurama said. "Chaos is one of your greatest tools as a ninja."

Naruto considered the proposition for a moment then looked around, taking in his surroundings. At his height, he was a couple of feet shorter than most, and the crowds were relatively thick as well. That was something he could use. Up ahead, he could also see more vendors coming into view, the stores growing larger due to the increased foot traffic. Ok... His eyes flitted from one spot to another, the various pieces of information coming together to form the beginnings of a plan. After thinking about it for a bit longer, he gulped, wetting his lips and nodding vigorously. "Ok, ok, ok. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this."

"I sure hope so..."

"Ok," Naruto said, gaze hardening as he took a deep breath and set his face forward. "I've got this."

Without wasting any time, he set his plan into motion, slamming both feet into the ground, dust flying from under his sandals as he skidded to a hard stop. His head swiveled upwards and towards his former sensei. The Toad Sannin was less than fifty feet away now. With a determined glare, he turned his gaze back to the hordes of people all around. If Jiraiya was so worried about the crowds, then he'd make them the bane of his existence.

...

The loud patter of footsteps resounded off the village rooftops as Jiraiya ran at full speed, gray hair flapping in the wind, eyes firmly glued to the brown hatted, red-shirted boy running through the crowds. Despite him masking his chakra, Naruto had still sensed him somehow. Maybe the fox enhanced his abilities more than he realized. Whatever the case, he had to end this as quickly and efficiently as possible. They were on foreign soil and causing trouble on someone else's turf was never a good idea. Unfortunately, the crowds were getting in the way of that. With such a dense civilian population, there was no way to sensibly engage. Last thing he needed was to accidentally injure a civilian. An incident like that would bury him in so much red tape that Ryoshi was bound to get to Naruto first. He'd have to wait until the time was right, then he would make his move. Until then, he just had to make sure he stayed on Naruto's tail. Losing him again was not an option.

His gaze narrowed as the boy in question sidestepped a vendor stand and sent a hanger of clothes crashing to the ground. An angered, "Hey!" left the owner's lips soon after. Jiraiya kept his attention on the brown hat and pressed forward, leaping over an alley and onto the next rooftop. Like a faintly red blur, Naruto ran through the crowds, his adolescent form allowing him to cut through them with ease. Jiraiya followed and watched in awe. He always knew that whenever Naruto put his mind to doing something, the results were extraordinary, but his speed now was pure insanity. The dark chakra he could faintly sense had to be the cause.

Without warning, the brown hat skidded to a stop, then did something Jiraiya wasn't expecting at all. Like a fishing bobber pulled underwater, the brown hat dipped below the crowds. Jiraiya's eyes widened in response and his steps came to an abrupt halt. There was no way... He was actually crouching to use the crowds to his advantage?! Since when did he get that smart?! Jiraiya groaned his displeasure then ran towards the edge of the rooftop he was on, eyes still trained on the crowds below. No sign of the brown hat anywhere. He growled lowly then jumped to the next rooftop. Great. Normally, he'd be impressed that his student had made such a brilliant tactical move, but right now it was annoying him out of his skull.

The loud footsteps came to a halt as he stopped at the corner of the rooftop, crouching low and perching on the edge. Sharp gray eyes scanned the crowds section by section, systematically eliminating possibilities on the quest to find the red and brown shadow lurking beneath. Nothing. Jiraiya grunted and tried sensing out the familiar chakra. Nothing again. So he was masking his chakra now too. Just great. His jaw clenched as he rotated left and right from his perch, scanning every part of the crowd the eye could see. Still no sign of the red shadow.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and recollected himself before opening them once more. At this point in the chase, a normal ninja would have made a critical mistake. They would have lost their cool. Impatience would set in as anxiety at the prospect of losing their target gnawed at their core. Jiraiya knew better. Patience. That was the key, and he had it in droves, which meant he also retained his ability to think logically. It was impossible for Naruto to have gone far. If he had kept running, the crowds would be splitting wherever he was. He was moving slow, staying hidden, like a rabbit in a brush. Jiraiya, in response, watched like a hawk from above, eyes sharp as he tried to spot his prey. At last, he spotted a flash of red cloth creeping among the crowds on the other side of the dirt road. Gotcha.

Eyeing an opposite rooftop, he ran backward for some distance then charged forward, jumping across the dirt road to the buildings on the other side. He landed with a crash and sent a few buckets that had been littering the rooftop to the dirt road below. With an unsteady groan, he righted himself and ran along the edge, continuing his pursuit. Below, he could see the red shadow breaking into a run again. "You can't run forever, Naruto!"

"Just watch me!" Naruto retorted, once again splitting the crowds and shoving people out of his way.

Jiraiya followed him for all of two seconds before his eyes widened, senses picking up on a faint chakra moving in a completely opposite direction. In an instant, the red sandals slammed against the ground and he swiveled his head towards the chakra at record speed. To his shock, there was another flash of red beneath the crowds. A shadow clone.

Instantly, he stood up straight, folding his hands and closing his eyes. Come on, come on, come on, come on... In the chaos, he sensed eight Naruto's, all headed in different directions. You've gotta be kidding me! His eyes shot open when he finally sensed out the original. That kid...

...

Naruto crouched low, still running at blazing speed as he pushed his way through the crowd. His shadow clone shenanigans probably wouldn't hold off Jiraiya for long, but they'd definitely buy him some time; hopefully, enough to come up with some type of plan.

"Better do it fast," Kurama said.

"What's that mean?" Naruto retorted.

"It means this section of town you just ran into is less densely populated; i.e., you're losing your cover."

Naruto's lips curled downwards and he lifted his eyes to the bustling crowd. It didn't take long to notice that Kurama was right. The change was barely noticeable, but once you looked, it was undeniable. The massive hordes had thinned ever so slightly, and that meant he was heading away from the busy spots. Many of the larger stores were starting to dwindle in number as well. Not good. The only people who were still around in full force were the vendors, and it was probably only because this run-down part of town was where they did most of their business.

"Well, that's just great." he scoffed.

"Don't get mad at me," Kurama said dryly. "I'm just the messenger."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"I'm still here, Naruto!"

Naruto turned his head and saw the Toad Sage a distance away, leaping to another rooftop at blazing speed. His brows furrowed ever so slightly and his frown grew. Looks like that was all the time those shadow clone shenanigans were gonna buy.

"He's so annoying," Naruto mumbled, turning away.

"Yeah," Kurama said. "I figured he would be."

"Any bright ideas?"

Kurama sighed, sitting in the chamber with his arms crossed and his head pointed downwards. "No, not at the moment."

"Well, he's not getting any farther away."

"Cheap tricks aren't gonna get him off our tail," the fox mumbled to himself. "We need something bigger..."

Naruto sighed his frustration then looked ahead, searching for any method of increasing the distance between them. Vendors, people, stands. Nothing big. Well, except for the buildings… His eyes narrowed towards the towering structures and his frown deepened. They weren't really ideal since Jiraiya was literally running on top of them, but with options dwindling, he had to make some type of move. After a few seconds of silent deliberation, he made his decision. If he kept going like this, the already thinning crowd would thin out entirely; he couldn't let that happen. Losing Jiraiya between the buildings had to be the move.

With iron focus, he made a hard right, leaving the main roads and running down a small pathway lined with vendor shacks. The moment he turned onto the narrow dirt path his eyes widened and he sprung into the air like a gazelle, hopping over a random bundle of hay he assumed belonged to one of the vendors. With a crash, his feet landed atop a bundle of crates, nearly sending him into a tumble. A deep groan left his throat at the pain in his knee, but he set his face forward and pressed on. It was only then that he realized his mistake. This wasn't a narrow pathway, it was a freaking obstacle course. Every part of the path was obstructed by some object from the vendors and since the path was so narrow, the clouds of dust had settled in the air, coating the environment in a thin cloud of dusty orange. A feeling of breathlessness passed through him as clouds of dust lodged in his throat; a coughing fit ensued soon after. When it had subsided, he groaned his discomfort and pushed forward, squinting through the dust and spitting out a dust-filled spitball in the process. His lips curved downwards as determination settled on his features. Whatever. He had come this far, nothing was stopping him now.

The first obstacle was a line of drying clothes. It was easy enough to push them out of the way and run past them, but the way the wet rags slid across his skin left much to be desired.

Up ahead, he could see the right side of the pathway being blocked by what appeared to be some type of wooden wheelbarrow full of fruits and vegetables. Reds and greens and yellows passed by in a blur as he ran along the left side of the path, arms tucked close to his body. The wooden object rattled as he ran by, sending bundles of apples, oranges, and assorted fruits tumbling to the ground with silent thuds.

Further still, he could see a band of chickens in a medium-sized black cage obstructing the way. It was safe to say they saw him as well because their clucking intensified as he approached them in a mad dash, the cage filling with flapping wings and a general sense of panic.

Buk, buk, buk, cluck, bok, bok, buk, cluck, BUK, BUK, BUK, BUK, BUK, BA-GAWKKK!

Naruto ran towards the left side of the pathway and, in one clean motion, transitioned from the floor to the wooden paneling of one of the vendor stands. A multitude of chicken heads turned in unison, black dotted eyes following the boy as he did the seemingly impossible, and ran along the paneling for the distance of the cage before jumping down and continuing further down the path. After a brief pause, they returned to their normal order of things, pecking at the ground in search of seeds.

"Stupid birds," Naruto said, focusing forward. At last, he could see the end of the dirt path ahead. Good. This little detour needed to be over fast. The last obstacle was a simple weapons crate and he used both hands to vault over it in one swift motion, his legs flying sideways over the wooden box. Both feet landed at the end of the path and once again the pain in his knee elicited a light groan, his chest rising and falling as he took a moment to gather his breath.

"I have an idea," Kurama said.

"Well, out with it," Naruto replied, heaving heavily.

"It's actually rather simple. I'm gonna give you all the chakra I can and you're gonna use the one jutsu that always saves your sorry behind."

Naruto squinted. "The shadow clone? I already tried that."

Kurama grinned, the rows of teeth coming into view. "Not like this."

...

The moment Naruto left the public road, Jiraiya knew he had to make the most of the opportunity. With no major crowds to hide behind, Naruto was as good as caught. Problem was that shadow clone stunt had created some distance between them and that meant he was no longer in range to cast a successful jutsu. First, he'd have to make up the distance, then he'd have a clean shot...or would he?

As a ninja, he had been trained to see through deception and there was definitely something fishy about the fact that Naruto, out of nowhere, had chosen to leave the main road. Why turn onto this less-traveled path? Not only had he lost the advantage of having the crowds on his side; he had also lost the advantage of having open space. Small buildings and vendor shacks literally lined the path on either side. He was effectively giving up the high ground. Not to mention that the pathway he was running down looked like it was full of vendor junk that slowed his progress. He had been using everything so expertly to his advantage before that he had to know this was a bad move. So there were only two possibilities – either he had some type of plan cooking or he was getting desperate. The crowds were thinning out a bit so the latter wasn't beyond reason.

Before he could think about it any longer, he saw Naruto emerging from the narrow path and pausing ever so slightly. A little while later, he could see the young blond's lips stretching into a grin. Without warning, Naruto turned to the building to his right and took a few steps back before vaulting up onto it and running up the side, right towards where Jiraiya would soon be. Jiraiya squinted his confusion. He was running towards him now?

Naruto vaulted onto the top of the building and stood tall, frown firmly etched in place. Jiraiya arrived a split second after, stopping a few feet away. A gust of wind seemed to pass between the two in the singular moment of silence.

"You can't get away, Naruto," Jiraiya said, eyes serious. "Just calm down and we can talk about this."

Naruto's frown broke into a grin as he held up his fingers in the familiar cross formation.

A dark pulsing chakra filled the air and Jiraiya's eyes widened as he grasped the plan. "Naruto, don't!"

The fingers met and the tell-tale sound of the activated jutsu rang through the air, puffs of gray smoke exploding out in every direction, clouds of gray and white covering the atmosphere. The clouds of smoke soon faded from view to reveal thousands of Narutos, all of them running around with various taunts on their lips.

"Haha!"

"See ya!"

"Perv!"

Jiraiya stood frozen in place, mouth half-open as his head swiveled towards Naruto clones in every direction.

"Can't sense out the real one now can you?" one of them chirped.

"Have fun trying that, you turd!" another laughed, vaulting off the rooftop.

Jiraiya frowned then shook himself out of it with a violent shake of the head. As much as he hated to admit it, the clones were right. Trying to sense out the real Naruto would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. He had to find another way of tipping this fight in his favor - fast. With keen eyes, he looked the clones over, intent on finding the weakness he needed to turn the tide of battle.

Two things to note. First of all, it appeared Naruto had a number of gashes running up his right arm that didn't look fully healed. Secondly, every single clone had a persistent limp that seemed to be coming from their right leg. It was safe to say those injuries were fairly recent, which meant they still had to hurt a whole lot. They were the key. "I'm sorry, Naruto," he said silently. "But you leave me no choice."

With one swift motion, he jumped straight up towards a clone in mid-air and with a twist of the torso, sent a heavy kick flying straight into its knee. "ARGHHH!" it cried, grimacing heavily before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

...

The real Naruto was blazing a path through the crowds when it happened. All at once, it felt like someone had taken those needles stabbing his knee before and turned every single one of them into steak knives.

"ARGHHHHH!" he screamed, tumbling to the ground as the injured knee buckled under his weight, cool dirt staining his face in streaks of reddish-brown as he slid through the dirt like a ragdoll. The brown hat flew off his head into the crowds and the freshly stolen shirt went from vibrant red to dusty orange. In the chaos, he could hear bystanders starting to ask if he was ok. His knee was in too much pain for him to care.

"Whoa, kid! You ok?!" someone exclaimed.

"This kid is everywhere!" yelled another.

Kurama's frown grew as the clone's memories hit the two of them.

"He's attacking my leg?!" Naruto screamed.

Kurama's brows furrowed and his scowl grew. "He's turning our strength into a weakness."

Naruto tried to rise to his feet only to feel the sharp pain ringing through his leg like fire. "ARRGGGHHHH!" he groaned from his position on the ground, gripping at the knee, teeth clenched as a guttural cry left his throat.

"Someone get him a doctor!" one lady said.

"We need a medic!" called another. "I think he's having a heart attack!"

"Kid, you gotta get up," Kurama said. "You're causing a scene. Jiraiya's gonna spot us if this keeps up."

"Yeah!" he spat. "I'll just ignore the fact...that my leg...IS TOTALLY BUSTED!"

Kurama shrank back slightly. "...Sorry."

Naruto grimaced then tried to brace himself to get up with his arms, but as soon as he did, it felt like someone had taken a bottle of Saké and poured it directly on the gashes lining his arm. "Argh!" he groaned, shaking it violently to assuage the pain. It was no use. Knee. Arm. Arm. Knee. Pain. In agony, he lie on the ground, tears stinging the sides of his eyes as he relentlessly slammed his fist into the ground after every wave.

"He knows about our injuries," Kurama said solemnly, falling into a think. "Ok, ok, ok," he continued. "You gotta let the clones go."

Naruto wheezed on the ground, catching his breath in heavy breath after heavy breath. "No..." he said resolutely.

"What do you mean no?"

"If he wants a fight," Naruto said, breathing raggedly and lifting his head. "I'm gonna give him one... All the clones have to do is stall him for a little longer."

"But what about your arm and leg?"

"I'M NOT STOPPING!" he yelled, slamming a fist into the ground.

Kurama's lips fell downwards, and confusion grew on his features until he could only be properly described as bewildered. Shaking himself out of it, he shrugged. "Alright, fine. I've got your back."

...

Jiraiya performed a deft tumble into a roll and stood up straight, looking up to see the clone he had just kicked in the arm disappearing in a puff of smoke. With his new strategy in action, the clones had taken to trying to run away from him. He made it his personal mission to make sure they had no chance of succeeding. As long as he could target those injuries, he could delay the real Naruto. Running away was a lot harder to do when your injuries wouldn't let you. So with sharp eyes, he spotted his next target. It was running along a rooftop that was a single jump away. With a running start, he jumped the gap between buildings and ran straight towards the clone, preparing to kick its knee to kingdom come. He was within arm's reach when the clone turned towards him angrily, an all too familiar whirring sound resonating in his left hand.

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he sprung into the air, twisting his body horizontally and dodging the clone's angry Rasengan swipe. Before the clone could swipe at him again, he leaped backward into a backflip, landing a few feet away, eyes narrowing. "So you're using my own jutsu against me," he said solemnly.

"At least I'm not actively attacking you while you're injured!" the Naruto clone spat.

"It isn't personal, Naruto."

"It feels personal!" he replied angrily, charging forward with the spiral of blue and white wind chakra in hand.

...

Naruto lay on the ground, grimacing lightly as he gripped at his knee. Fortunately, the waves of pain had just stopped, which meant his clones were now in the fight of their lives. Hopefully, they had what it took to hold his former sensei off long enough for him to escape.

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman with curly white hair and soft blue eyes was kneeling next to him. Her dress was a dark blue and looked much more casual than formal, stopping at her knees right above her silky white skin. The attire made her look like a civilian more than anything, but Naruto suspected she was a bit more than that. "Looks like you need a hand," she said, gently grabbing at his leg.

"Ah," he groaned. "That would be nice."

"Lucky for you it's my day off. Well, not anymore," she finished silently, rolling up the pant leg past the knee to reveal a swollen reddish-purple mess.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Someone's chasing me," he rasped. "I broke it earlier and now they're attacking my clones."

"You've sure got a lot of them," she said, looking around.

"Yeah," he grimaced, trying to grin despite his current state.

"Either way," she continued, turning back to him. "I'm gonna try to set your knee and heal it up a bit."

"No!" he said rather forcefully. The faintly pink lips curled downwards in response.

"I need...to get...to a hospital," he said in between ragged breaths.

"But-"

"No buts! I have to disappear!"

She examined him with a critical gaze and looked him in the eyes as if wanting to argue. His response was a solemn frown and eyes full of distress. "Please," he said silently.

Finally, she sighed and nodded. "...Ok."

Looking around, she spotted a vendor's wheelbarrow and ran over to it, grabbing it by the handles.

"Hey!" the owner yelled. "That's private property!"

"Consider it a rental!" she chirped back over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Naruto groaned, trying to prop himself up on his elbows.

"You said you needed to disappear, didn't you?" she said, extending her hand to him. "Get in."

Naruto nodded and reached for her arm, groaning as he curled into the small wooden space. "Thanks for this," he said, nodding his appreciation.

"Don't mention it," she said, grabbing a large rag from one of the vendors and throwing it over his body. "Now stay quiet."

...

Jiraiya leaned back, dodging the Rasengan swipe headed for his torso, and countered by sending a kick into the clone's left arm, causing the Rasengan to dissipate into nothing. He was preparing to dispatch himself of the clone when the shadow of something flying overhead darkened the floor. Spinning around, he saw the bright yellow of the sun curling around the blackened body of a very angry Naruto clone that was flying towards him in an acrobatic lunge. He wasn't alone. Red-shirted Narutos rained from the sky, all of them flying towards him with Rasengans in hand.

"Rasengan Barrage!" they yelled.

Jiraiya quickly folded his hands into a hand sign and the grayish, white hair shot out in every direction, wrapping around the multitudes of limbs and holding them at a distance.

"Hey!" the remaining clones yelled in protest, running towards the toad sage with everything they had.

"Raging Lion's Mane!" Jiraiya yelled, flinging the clones he had captured towards the ones that were running towards him angrily. Like a whirlwind, the chakra laced hair spun and the clones flew out in every direction, random thuds sounding through the air as multitudes of clone bodies crashed into each other and started disappearing in puffs of smoke.

With the more pressing Rasengan barrage taken care of, Jiraiya let his hair return to his head and fell into a battle stance, preparing for the assault that would no doubt follow. Much to his displeasure, the Naruto clones started disappearing one by one, each vanishing in a silent poof.

"No, no, no," Jiraiya started repeating.

One by one, the clones started to disappear, the puffs of smoke eventually clearing to leave Jiraiya standing on an empty set of rooftops. He tried sensing Naruto out again to no avail. The hyperactive blond had made himself scarce.

Jiraiya stood in silence for an inordinate amount of time, his mind still struggling to process that what happened...had actually just happened. When he finally snapped out of it, a scowl stretched from one side of his face to the other and a bucket unfortunate enough to be in his immediate vicinity was kicked skywards with a thunk. The wooden object soared clear across town and into some random district a distance away. With a sigh, he bit into his thumb, preparing to summon the toads once more.

...

Naruto tried to steady his breathing, but couldn't get rid of the clogged, nasally feeling in his nose. Neither could he rid himself of the feeling of dust clogging his throat. Despite clearing his throat multiple times and trying to snort whatever nose problem he had away, his breathing had not improved. In fact, every breath he drew in felt stuffier and more clogged than the last. With a rag on top of him, getting a proper supply of air was proving difficult and the atmosphere was already dusty as it was. It didn't help that the medic carting him around seemed to have a need for speed. Maybe she just wanted to get him to the hospital quickly. Either way, lying in darkness through the bumpy, jerky journey had left him in even worse shape than he was in before. His stomach was long past feeling like it was in his throat and the lack of sight while being carted around at high speed was giving him a serious case of vertigo. Unfortunately, he had no choice. With Jiraiya looking for him out there, this bumpy, stuffy, uncomfortable cart was the safest place he could be right now. So he strengthened his mind and pressed on, enduring the suffocating atmosphere all around, holding back vomit at the sudden lurch here, fighting the daze despite the near tumble there.

Finally, the wheelbarrow came to an abrupt stop and the rag flew off him. "Hey, kid. We're here." the medic said.

Before she had even finished her sentence, he flung his head over the side of the wheelbarrow, emptying his insides all over the floor in a purplish-black mess. The medic's sandals were unfortunate enough to be caught in the spray.

"Awww," she groaned, lifting one of the vomit-splattered sandals. "Was hoping to avoid that."

Immediately after vomiting, he could feel the blood rushing to his head, darkness creeping in from the sides as his head grew heavy. Finally, he let his head fall back, the world fading to black as darkness lulled him to unconsciousness.

Author's Note:

Another chapter down! Hope you all enjoyed this scuffle between Naruto and Jiraiya. Turned pretty hostile, but that's the life of a ninja I guess. In any case, thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review! Also, the next chapter is already up. Double upload remember. ;)