Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, as you might have guessed

Chapter 5

The mud splashed underfoot as the sky opened up. Koji looked at the man walking before him. His long dirt stained blonde hair was plastered to the sides of his face, weighed down by the rain. He was not very tall, actually a few inches smaller than Koji himself, but his build, and way he carried himself bore the signs of a lifetime of relentless training. His clothing he wore was rags, a brown pair of pants that only reached halfway down his shin, held up by a rope that doubled for a belt. He wore traditional wooden sandals and a flack jacket similar in design to the one Koji had. On his arms were metallic armguards and a black leather glove covered his right hand. It suddenly occured to Koji that Naruto did not have any backpack or water-bottle. As far as he could tell the shinobi did not have any supplies of any sort on him at all. Koji's mind started racing. He had not thought about it before, but a shinobi was a warrior, much more skilled than himself and in all probability not one to do anything without planning. So what the hell was going on, if this particular shinobi walking a few meters ahead of him doing, without any supplies what so ever. The only time his unit, the Fireants had done something similar was on hit and run missions, very close to base.

Koji gulped.

What if they were close to a shinobi hideout? What if Naruto had spared his life just to capture him and bring him back to his comrades? What if he was being made a prisoner? He had heard horrible stories of shinobi that experimented on live subjects for various reasons, and tales of soldiers being taken prisoner to suffer an unknown fate. He started to feel sick to his stomach as his all too vivid imagination started to paint him horrible pictures of what might be in store for him if he continued to follow Naruto.

He started sweating as an incredible urge to turn and run washed over him. But what good could ever come of that? He knew that the shinobi was faster than he could ever dream of becoming. Each step he took felt heavier, he felt he was marching straight into his own damnation. Into the lions den, lured in just to be picked apart and studied like an animal, by cold calculating emotionless minds. He looked at Naruto's back again and somehow the shinobi seemed so much more scary this time around. Koji gripped his Repeater rifle tightly in his hands. He had to get out of there.

Silently rummaging through a pocket in his flack jacked, Koji found his last remaining clip of ammunition. He tried to stay as silent as possible, but found it quite the accomplishable feat. He was so nervous that he fumbled with the magazine and dropped it with a thump.

Naruto turned around and saw Koji franticly trying to pick up the dropped item.

"You drop something?" Naruto asked

"Yeah! Yeah I did!" Koji said nervously and a bit to loud, followed by a weak laughter

"Right..." Naruto said looking at him a bit confused, before he turned and started down the path again.

Koji's heart raced like crazy, for a moment there he thought that he was going to die. Clutching the clip in his hand so tight that his knuckles went white, he praised God that the shinobi had not understood what he was up to.

It seemed like the path they were walking along had not changed at all since they had started. The rain had not stopped either, it was starting to go through Koji's uniform making him cold and uncomfortable. Silently Koji placed the clip into the magazine-well of the rifle, locking it in place as carefully as he possibly could. He almost jumped at the small click sound it made, and cursed his own uselessness under his breath. Raising the rifle ever so carefully, he tried to centre it on the back of the man in front of him. A part of his mind told him to pull the trigger and get the hell out of there, but then again Naruto had spared his life earlier. If the shinobi turned and saw what he was doing, Koji was sure he was not gone be given that gift again. After a moment more of hesitation, he lowered the rifle, not sure if was because he wanted to spare the life of the man in front of him, or to spare his own.

They arrived at a small run down, one street town. Koji was not sure if it even qualified as a town. The so called town consisted of only one street lined with a few houses, and some shops of sorts. It was getting dark, and the town seemed almost abandoned, save for a few lights that hung from the window of a rather large wooden building. The atmosphere was a bit creepy as the rain pored down and there was not a soul to be seen, except for Naruto who was walking conveniently behind him.

"So this is the "town" you have been talking about?" Koji said over his shoulder sarcastically

"Yeah, it is" Naruto replied sounding a bit offended

"So we walk for three hours just to end up here?" After realizing that Naruto had no desire to kill him, Koji had steadily grown bolder in his comments.

"Hey, shut it soldier boy. This is about the only place left where I can get a drink without all the sneaking around or henges"

"Henges?" Koji asked confused

"Eh, that is just slang for disguises" Naruto lied, not wanting to go into a lengthy explanation about the ninja arts. "This place is so cut off from the rest of the surrounding villages, it's easy to just slip in, get what you want and get out without being noticed."

"But if you are so adept at disguising yourself, as I recon shinobi should be, you should be able to get in unnoticed in any village, right?" Koji wondered

"That's true, but in case something does happen, I can get the hell out long before anyone can alert other towns. In short: if the shit hits the fan, my ass is covered"

"Oh, I guess that makes sense" Koji replied "But, this does not seem to be the place to get supplies, not to be rude or anything" he added quickly.

"I'm not a demanding man." Naruto said smiling. "I need that drink now, so get moving"

It was not a long walk to say the least, and seconds later the two were standing outside the only tavern in the town. The building was rather large, considering the size of the other buildings around it, it looked old and worn but sturdy. Strangely enough there were no windows, just a little staircase that led to a heavy wooden door about a meter under ground level, and a large sign that read "The Burning Hog"

"How charming" Koji muttered and started down the stairs but was stopped by Naruto.

"I think it's best if I appear as your subordinate in here, just to avoid any possible confrontations." Naruto started as he took of his flak-jacket and armguards and placed them in a brown bag kept in his jacket. "You're the big soldier hero around here, you know"

"Yeah, your probably right Naruto" Koji agreed as he took of his helmet and fastened it to his backpack. "Let's go"

Hot smoke hit their faces as they walked into the surprisingly crowded bar. The room was dimly lit by kerosene lamps that lined the walls and hung from the ceiling in some places. The interior seemed to be made exclusively from oak Simple stools lined the walls with square tables in front, that looked old and worn, just like the rest of the place. There were surprisingly many people in the bar and every one of them seemed to be engaged in some form of conversation. Naruto guessed that everybody knew one another seeing that the town was very small. The bar was located in the right corner of the room lined with bar stools. Naruto noted with a disapproving grunt that the selection of beverages were, at best limited.

In the centre of the bar there seemed to be some sort of VIP area, consisting of three round tables situated around a centre pillar that supported the roof. The people sitting there were rather scruffy looking but none the less had the complete attention of the staff. As Koji and Naruto passed them on their way to the bar, a large bald man slapped the passing waitress backside hard enough to topple her over, causing her to drop her tray of beverages.

"Oh no.." the waitress said weakly and looked heartbroken at the mess. One of the other occupants of the "VIP" area, a skinny, bearded man shot up out of his seat and lifted the fallen woman to her feet.

"Look what you have done you clumsy bitch!" he yelled only a few inches from her face.

"You spilled our drinks! We paid good money for it!"

"I'm so very sorry sir" the waitress answered looking at the floor in shame and fear. "I will replace your drinks at once"

As she turned to walk, the high pitched voice of the skinny man rang out again.

"That's not good enough" he said smirking as he grabbed her arm. The poor waitress yelped as he pulled her close. "You have to do us a favour" he grinned.

"Yeah! A favour!" the others around the tables hollered and laughed.

The waitress looked petrified. "What? A favour? No.. I.."

"You spilled our drinks, it's only fair you compensate us." The bastard grinned widely. "You just have to entertain us for a bit. Don't worry Ryoka is great company once you get to know him"

The large man with the eye patch laughed roughly and licked his lips.

"No..I can't" the waitress tried "I have to work.."

"Oh that's ok, you can get back to your drink serving" the skinny man said in an almost comforting tone. Then he added "But you are coming with us later" as he showed her away. The waitress had tears in her eyes as she got back to the bar.

As soon as Koji and Naruto sat down, she walked over to them and placed a sake bottle in front of them. Naruto could see her reddening eyes, but she was putting on a brave face.

"We only serve sake and beer, and the beer went stale a week ago" she stated as a matter of factly. "That will be 40 gil"

Naruto looked at Koji hoping he had some money. Naruto himself sure as hell did not have any. Koji looked up a bit annoyed but paid up.

"Hey soldier!" came a call from behind.

Both Koji and Naruto turned their heads towards the self-proclaimed owners of the place. The obese bald man held up his drink towards them.

"Killed anyone of those ninja lately?"

Koji cast a sideways glance at Naruto who just stared blankly at the group.

"Yeah.." He answered. "Shot a few of them the day before yesterday" he added with a fake sense of pride.

"Good going soldier-boy! The only good ninja is a dead ninja!" the fat man shouted, earning the loud praise of his drinking buddies. "Barkeep! One sake for my ninja killing friend!"

Koji nodded a fake thank you and turned back to the bar.

"Should we take it?" he asked Naruto.

"They are a bunch of pigs, but the drink is free" Naruto answered casually, downing a cup of sake. The barkeep, an elderly man put another bottle of sake in front of him. Koji slipped him some money for the second bottle, the fat guy wasn't very likely to pay anyway. The barkeeper whispered a thank you and shot them a little smile before he went about his business.

"So much for a free drink" Naruto muttered annoyed.

"Hey if I accepted it would be like stealing, do you think those guys would ever pay up?"

"Yeah, yeah your right" Naruto agreed, still a bit sour.

The bar was bustling with talk and the duo at the bar had almost finished their first sake bottle. Spontaneous singing broke out every once in a while, as people seemed to forget the hardships of war, if only for a second.

The jolly mood soon came to an end, as the so-called VIP got up from their seats to leave. The skinny man who had harassed the waitress earlier, started shouting something. Naruto could not make out what he said over the loud chatter that filled the room. The chatter seemed to irritate the skinny man to no end, so he effectively silenced them by firing his gun into the air. The room instantly went dead silent at the sudden boom. The posse of seven walked over to the elderly barkeeper.

"Hey old man! We are about to leave, but we have a date with the waitress. Where is she?"

"I'm sorry sir" the old man replied bowing his head in fear. "Ayame-chan has left, she was not feeling very well"

Naruto knew for a fact that she had snuck into the back just five minutes ago, to avoid them.

"You lying old bastard!" The skinny man screamed in his face and pushed the old man so hard he collapsed into the shelves of liquor behind him. Naruto felt the urge to rip the bullying bastard to pieces, but the logical part of his mind did not want a quarrel. He could not afford to blow his cover, it would be too much of a hassle

No one in the bar dared to interfere even when the group made their way over the bar and started kicking the defenceless old man where he lay. Koji looked at Naruto as if to say that they had to help and stated to pull on his sleeve. Naruto looked back reluctantly but got to his feet as he whispered to no one in particular "There goes the cover" But just as they got up and were about to interfere, Ayame, the waitress came running in from the back.

"Stop it you are killing him!" she screamed in despair

"Well there you are. Dump the old geezer, there is more fun to be had with this one" The group of men grinned their perverted grins and grabbed the poor girl.

"Leave Ayame-chan alone, I beg of you" the barkeeper pleaded blood gurgling in his throat, but his plea fell for deaf ears.

Suddenly a cloaked figure got up from his seat. Naruto had not noticed the man; he had been seated in the corner of the room, just outside the reach of the light. The man was quite large and a hood masked the features of his face. Naruto found it rather odd that he had not noticed the man; he usually had complete control of his surroundings.

The large man made his way over across the room towards the group of men currently dragging Ayame kicking and screaming by her hair behind them.

"What is he up to?" Koji asked apparently nervous about the brawl he knew was coming.

"He probably wants to be a frikkin' hero" Naruto growled, as the two made their way towards the group as well. "He is going to get himself killed, we have to stop the fool before it's too late"

They caught up with the hooded man at the exit, and Naruto put a hand on his shoulder.

"You really should not do that, you are going to get yourself killed" Naruto said calmly

"And what is it to you?" The large man responded in a deep voice, not turning

"Do you really want to risk your life for this?"

"Someone has to do it, none of you cowards will" he replied scornfully as he started to walk for the exit. Naruto still had his right hand on the mans left shoulder and held him back.

"Look, I'll go.." he started, but before he could finish the large man twisted his shoulder to the right and out of Naruto's grip, turned halfway towards him and shoved him forcefully away. Naruto toppled over backwards and crashed into a table behind him, getting showered in stale beer in the process. As he looked up, a confused Koji was looking down at him.

"What the hell was that?" Koji asked, apparently befuddled by how easily the man had showed Naruto away.

"I don't know" Naruto said equally confused, looking at his beer-soaked clothes in dismay. He could have sworn he felt chakra in that push, but none the less, he felt incredibly stupid for getting tripped over. This was definitely not a good day for being a shinobi.

A scream brought their attention back to whatever was going on outside.

"Oh no, the crazy bugger tried to stop them!" Koji exclaimed as the both of them rushed for the door.

A scene very much unlike any they had expected met them on the other side of the door. Every single one of the seven men that had left with Ayame was left scattered on the ground severely beaten. In the middle of the carnage, the hooded man stood holding his cheek. Ayame, strangely enough looked angry.

"You hentai bastard!" she shouted "You are just like the rest of them!"

She stomped off fuming, presumably going home.

"My, my" the large man said half loud to himself. "What has become of this world if a young flower can't show apritation towards her gallant saviour?"

Naruto just stood there dumbstruck at the weirdness of it all, but weirder still was the strange feeling of déjà vu. After a moment of confusion the large man, who had had his back turned the entire time started to walk away.

"Hey!" Naruto called after him. "Hey, stop for a minute will you?"

The request was not granted, so Naruto started walking after him, Koji following close behind.

"Hey, stop already, I just want to talk to you!" Naruto continued breaking into a mall jog to catch up with the apparently deaf man. Koji kept a safe distance, just in case.

Naruto had almost caught up with the hooded man and continued talking.

"You are a shinobi right? You have to be, no civilian can take out that many people that fast. So what village are you from?"

The man showed no signs of slowing down, nor did he seem to listen at all. This annoyed Naruto, but he controlled himself, continuing talking.

"Please stop, I just want to talk. Like it or not, all shinobi are in this fight together, we should help each other."

After a few minutes of more blabbering, Naruto got fed up and grabbed the man by his collar.

"Look, I'm not going to leave you alone until you talk to me!"

Naruto could feel the man tense up as he stopped. From the shove he had given earlier and the way he had handled the men outside the bar, Naruto got the feeling he was skilled, even for a shinobi. But if he did try anything again Naruto was ready for it.

"Let go of me" the restrained man suddenly said, sounding almost bored.

"Not before you f…" Naruto started but before he could finish what he was saying, the man yanked his body forward freeing himself from Naruto's grip. The blonde cursed, he was sure he had a firm grip on the man. Twisting to his left the large man avoided Naruto's next attempt at grabbing him and got into a defensive stance.

Naruto attacked. Not all out, just a straight punch to test his opponent. It was easily blocked so Naruto followed up with a swooping left crescent kick. The large man ducked with surprising agility sweeping Naruto's foot making him tumble backwards. Naruto quickly regained his footing and attacked again, faster this time. Bending his knees more, he leapt forward kicking twice before he landed, but not one of the kicks connected. Moving faster still, Naruto struggled to land a hit, but with no success. It was not that the man before him was amazingly fast himself, but he seemed to move so correctly, so painfully calculating and predicting to a degree that he outclassed Naruto's taijutsu skills by far. Growing increasingly frustrated after each blow that had no effect Naruto changed to the fastest style he knew the praying mantis. But just as before the hooded man blocked and ducked masterfully. After a few glancing blows Naruto took a straight punch to the face followed up by a swift knee to the stomach and an uppercut so hard that it sent him flying backward.

The world rippled around Naruto. His vision tunnelled as colour seemed to drain away from everything, leaving only faint specs of red. He had had enough. He had got no answers from the mysterious man, he had been showered in god knows how old beer and on top of it all he had been totally outclassed in taijutsu. Naruto could feel a familiar sensation as the chakra of the captive demon in his belly forced its way into his entire body. No one treated him like this and got away with it.

Koji watched the whole thing in horror. The demon that had killed all of the men in his unit was back, and Koji had no hopes that if Naruto killed the hooded man in that condition, he would not hesitate to kill Koji. He had seen that berserker rage before, and in his mind there was no stopping it. How on earth could he be so stupid to follow this man?

"It's all over now" Koji chuckled to himself morbidly to himself as Naruto flung himself forward towards his strangely immobile opponent, claws extended.

Suddenly the hooded man exploded into action. He ducked lightning fast under the first swipe of Naruto's claws, but it still ripped through his hood. His arm shot forward, so fast Koji did not even see it before he had his large callused hand around Naruto's throat holding him off the ground.

"You little shit!" he thundered in a deep commanding voice.

The blonde swung wildly at him mad with rage, not listening at all. The large man stood completely still, save for one hand that was rummaging through a pocket. A moment later he slammed what to Koji looked like a small paper note onto Naruto' forehead, that made him jolt and buckle, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went completely limp.

Koji watched all this in disbelief. During the last few days he had seen some horrible and amazing things, but here was a stranger that seemed to have no problem containing the monster that killed a whole team of soldiers by itself. Koji had no idea how o react he just stood and stared and hoped someone would wake him up soon, and tell him it was all a very weird dream.

The large man dropped Naruto, who collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

"You little brat, I thought I taught you better control than that" he stated upset before he turned and looked straight at Koji.

His white hair was very long and unruly and was secured in a messy ponytail that reached his back. Long red lines ran from his eyes down his cheek and stopped right over a square set jaw. Koji raised his rifle at him in fear shaking the entire time.

"Don't come any closer" he almost screamed

"Look.." the man started but was interrupted before he could finish

"I said stop!" Koji continued almost wetting his pants. This man had killed Naruto without any problems and that thought scared Koji perhaps even more than Naruto himself. The white haired man took a step towards him, and in a moment of panic Koji squeezed the trigger.

The shot missed widely flying off into the forest. The man before him did not seem scared or intimated by far he just continued towards him. Koji started to try and reload but the large man ripped the rifle out of his hands.

"Please don't kill me, please don't" Koji started staggering backwards.

"Hey Koji! Calm down!" came from behind them

Both Koji and the large man turned to look. It was Naruto sitting on the ground with a slight smile on his face. The piece of paper was crumpled in his hand.

"Long time, no see, Ero-sennin.."

Aha! Good ol' Jiraiya back in the game!I have big plans for him, so stay tuned.