Chapter Four: The Shinobi of Pain

Naruto awoke and felt a vicious pain in his neck as something was drawn out. Feeling it gradually regenerating, he put his hand to his neck. Or rather, he tried, because his hands were tied. He was lying down on the dirt, and there was a root digging into his back. The branches of a huge tree were above him. Looking up, he saw an armored figure wearing a mask, clad in white. Their hair was long and dark, and they appeared to be polishing a number of senbon.

"You awake." They said, glancing up, to show their mask. It had a red stripe across where their nose would be.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto, sitting up and looking around. He was in the depths of the forest, and light was coming down from above. "Where am I? Why did you knock me out?! Where is Tenten?!"

"They call me Haku." his captor said simply. "As for your comrade, she is is safe, if unconscious. I sent a message to the Leaf, informing them of the battle. Both should be found tied to a tree by the road."

"Well then, why did you tie me up?" said Naruto.

"Calm yourself," said Haku, their voice calm. "I am an emissary of Lord Pain of the Akatsuki. For now. It would be more accurate to say I am on loan."

"The Akatsuki?" Naruto remembered that name. "You mean that terrorist group that took control of the Land of Rain."

"They would call themselves freedom fighters if you asked," said Haku. "Their leader, Lord Pain, sent me to retrieve you once an opportunity. I have been following you for some time."

"Well, how can you be 'on loan' anyway?" asked Naruto. "You're a person."

"A shinobi is a weapon in human form," said Haku. "Their purpose is to slay the enemies of their master. I belong to the Mizukage, Zabuza. However, he has lent me to Lord Pain."

"That's sick," said Naruto. "You're a person, not a kunai."

"If it makes you feel better about it, you could think of it as an assignment," said Haku. "Shinobi of the Leaf often go to serve Feudal Lords as bodyguards. They serve loyally, even though the Leaf Village is their master.

"My situation is much the same. If I desired to, I could defy Master Zabuza, or request other orders. However, I have no such desires. I exist to serve him."

"I have a feeling you and Neji would not get on well," said Naruto. "What does this Pain want with me, anyway?"

Haku remained silent, as if in surprise. "Surely, it must be obvious. You are-"

And then a giant serpent rushed out of the trees and surged toward them. Haku quickly grabbed Naruto and sprang out of the way. But another came after her, and soon she was springing from tree to tree in flight. Naruto struggled to get free.

Obviously, Haku wasn't friends with whoever Kin was working for.

Another serpent went after her from the trees, and she nearly lost her grip on him. "Hey, let go of me, will you! There's no way you'll be able to get away from those things carrying me!"

"I do not require-" began Haku.

And then another snake, far larger than the others, shot out of the ground. As it did, Haku finally lost their grip and slipped on a tree. Falling downward, she caught herself, and Naruto turned in midair to try and land on his feet.

He managed to land on his knees and saw that his pack had landed near him. There was his switch-sword. Looking over, he saw Haku dodging and weaving the snakes. She was doing well for herself. Two of the serpents had tied themselves in a knot, and a third was being peppered with senbon.

Naruto didn't have long. Throwing himself down near the switchblade, he worked with his hands to try and hit the button. If he could just activate it, he could saw these ropes off.

"Come on, come on..." said Naruto.

The switch-sword shot out, instantly slicing his ropes. Then Naruto howled as he felt the blade slash the tips of his fingers. Scrambling back, he clutched his bleeding hand, blowing on it. Soon enough, the flesh hurt, but God that had hurt!

Even so, Naruto was free. Grabbing the blade, he fitted it onto his hand.

Then he heard hissing. Very loud hissing.

Turning around, he saw a very large, very hungry looking snake coming toward him. It was hissing. Naruto backed away. "Oh, uh... Nice snakey, nice... ah!"

And then the beast surged forward. Naruto jumped up in time to avoid the poisonous fangs but soon found himself pulled down the throat. Using his training, he slid himself to a halt and hacked at the flesh.

It hardly made a dent. There was a cut, but he had no space to get momentum, and by the time he cut his way out he'd be snake food.

What the hell did he do? "No, no, I am not dying in here. The power..." Then he halted as he remembered. "That's right, Dad's power. He kept trying to teach it to me, and I've been practicing. I can do this. I can do this!" Summoning his power, he focused his ability, making the hand signs as he did so.

Dad had always said that learning it came from a need as much as a desire. You needed to have a massive need for it. Well, that was right now. "Now or never."

He made the motions perfectly.

But he had forgotten the name. How? How could he forget the damn name at this point in time?! His life was on the line here!

And then there was a slash of ice, and the snake's head came off. Haku appeared above him and offered a hand. "Come quickly."

Naruto wasn't one to complain. "Thanks, I uh... I really need to work on that technique."

He grabbed the hunter's hand and was pulled out. As he did, he saw many of the serpents were dead. But many smaller serpents were slithering out to attack them from all around. Haku sprang up to the trees and motioned for him to follow.

Then Naruto had an idea.

"I need to get my pack!" he said.

"Leave it," said Haku.

But Naruto didn't listen. His pack was drenched in his chakra from all the time he'd used it. That meant it was the perfect use for a substitution jutsu. Grasping it, he pretended to flinch at the sight of a snake and dropped it.

"Alright, I see your point!" said Naruto.

The substitution jutsu was done.

Springing up into the trees, he ran alongside Haku in flight.

"We cannot rest easy yet," said Haku. "We must move on; these serpents have a master." Then she paused. Was it a she? "What technique were you trying to use? I felt something from it."

"Oh, it was a... sort a technique my Dad tried to teach me how to use a long time ago," said Naruto. "The thing is, it's really tough to pull off. You need really expert control, and if you mess it up, you basically waste the chakra.

"And you kind of need to be in a really dangerous situation to pull it off."

"Your kekkei genki?" guessed Haku.

"I dunno, actually," said Naruto. "I don't think he taught it to anyone else." Time to gather information. "So, um..."

"Yes?" asked Haku.

"Why'd you send that Kin girl over to Guy-sensei?" asked Naruto. "Wasn't she an ally." Play dumb.

"No," said Haku. "That girl is a member of a squad that has been set up on the Shrine of Twin Serpents. They are acting contrary to our interests, and I do not intend to let you fall into their hands."

"Right," said Naruto, "so, you're after me because I'm a Jinchuuriki, right? I heard the Akatsuki recruit them?"

"We do," said Haku. "Lord Pain saw an opportunity to recruit powerful warriors, and he took it. Their villages rejected and despised them, even as they used them as disposable tools. It was a simple matter to gain their loyalty.

"They represent a large part of the Akatsuki's number." Then she halted on a tree branch. "...We appear to be safe here."

"Yeah, guess we are," said Naruto. "Oh, Haku?"

"Hmm," said Haku.

"Substitution jutsu!" said Naruto.

Then there was a flash, and he'd swapped places with his pack. He was back in the clearing. Quickly turning, he sprinted the opposite direction Haku had gone. She'd probably been trying to get as far away from the path as possible.

Sucker.

Still, Naruto found he was a bit tired after all that. Running was actually hard, and several times he had to stop to rest. "Ow... that uh... that took a lot more out of me than I was expecting. Right, the chakra required for a substitution jutsu is larger the farther you go.

"I hope Tenten is alright."

On he went, and as he did, he mentally tried to draw a bit on the fox's chakra. It was activated by strong emotions, anger, in particular, that was what Mom had told him. So Naruto focused on the time after Mom and Dad had left, the jeering. Friendly faces that turned to scowls. People dismissing him, being called a filthy traitor. His fist was clenched, and he felt the energy coming into him.

Then, taking the chakra, he focused on making it his own. Soon he'd restored a large part of his chakra. He'd still need to rest physically, but he wouldn't be unable to fight.

Then, Naruto came to the place where he'd fought Kin and Tenten. There was no sign of either. But there were cut ropes near one of the trees. Had Guy-sensei and Neji gotten here already?

"Naruto!" came a familiar call.

Looking up, Naruto saw Neji and Guy running toward them. Naruto turned quickly. "Neji, Guy-sensei, is Tenten with you?"

"No, we received a message indicating she was supposed to be here," said Neji, before halting. "It was in your handwriting."

"My handwriting? How the..." Naruto looked up. "How could she copy my handwriting?" He shook his head. "Look, Tenten and I got into a fight with this Kin girl; we beat her, and then I got knocked out. Then I was getting dragged off by this ninja called Haku and-

"Nevermind."

Neji kneeled down by the tree and raised the rope. "There is a rope here, and I can see residual chakra from Tenten and one another. There is also... something else.

"I've never sensed a chakra like this one. It's like an adult's, but not."

"What do you mean, Neji?" asked Naruto.

"Adults and children tend to have different kinds of chakra," said Neji. "As people get older, their chakra changes nature. This one is... it is as if an adult has gone back to being a child. At least, I think that's what it is."

"Whatever the truth, Neji, Tenten is counting on us. Scan the area," said Guy.

Neji nodded and began to look around at his Byakugan. He seemed worried, which Neji almost never seemed. Even before his dad had been sold out by the Main Branch, Neji had never been expressive. After that had happened, he'd withered a little more every day.

Then Guy put a hand to Naruto's shoulder. "You have any idea of where to start looking, Naruto?"

"Haku said there was a whole team of ninja up by the Shrine of Twin Serpents," said Naruto. "Maybe one of them found Tenten and Kin and pulled them back up."

"He's right," said Neji. "I'm detecting three chakra trails leading up that way. Tenten is among them."

"Then it's decided. We'll head up to the shrine at once," said Guy. "A true ninja never leaves a comrade behind."

"Wait, where's Kabuto?" asked Naruto.

"He's dealing with the plague under guard by Todoroki," said Guy. "Leave him to his job, Naruto. We've got a friend to save."

Naruto just hoped he'd be able to pull off that move sooner or later. Otherwise, he'd have a problem.