A/N: God I'm glad I looked over this chapter before posting it, you wouldn't believe how many mistakes I found… anywho, lots of actions continue to unfold in this chapter as our blessed heroes enter Amegakure. Hope you enjoy! After this chapter I'll be taking a short break from posting every day (Christ…) because I have to take finals D: Til' then, catch ya later! - Hollowfied
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Chapter 5: Journey to the Center of Pain
"We're here," Kakashi commented as the group of shinobi cleared the trees, "be alert. Danger could be anywhere,"
Amegakure was a dainty village with towering mountains of iron that passed off as buildings. The large skyscrapers had numerous power lines connecting them to each other, making the village seem like a web of wires. A dreary rain cascaded down on the city as the group of ninja entered the Village Hidden in the Rain.
Before long, they made their way into a small tavern. Annoyed glances were tossed at Akamaru as he shook off the rain water, drenching everyone even more.
"Stay here," Kakashi commanded, "I'll gather some information. It'll be foolhardy to charge into enemy territory knowing nothing,"
With a nod, the ANBU ninja strode back into the downpour. The other members of the platoon sank back into chairs, sighing. Anxiety filled the room as they all knew, at any moment, they could be attacked. Nowhere was safe within the accursed village.
The innkeeper paid them no mind, most probably used to unfamiliar visitors. Not wanting to test their luck, the group chose not to question him, lest he kick them out or, even worse, turns them in. After serving them tidbits and tea, he retired to the backroom. Naruto attempted to break the tension hovering over his teammates with friendly chatter, which they appreciatively responded to.
The inn was remarkably empty for the duration of the ninjas' stay. After what seemed like a few hours, however, two figures ambled through the creaky, wooden doorway. Their strange garb was unseen before by the platoon of Konoha ninjas, but the swords draped over their backs and their headbands gave them away as shinobi.
"Careful," Shikamaru whispered, "they're from Kumogakure."
The Konoha shinobi nodded their understanding, warily but inconspicuously keeping an eye on them as they approached the front counter.
The innkeeper appeared again, as indifferent to the two new guests as he was to Naruto and his teammates. As the kunoichi of the pair conversed with the old man, the male shinobi's eyes stared holes into the Konoha platoon, who returned them with equal intensity.
Suddenly, Shikamaru instinctively flipped the table the platoon of Konoha ninja were gathered around. Just as he did, shuriken protruded out of the side facing the shinobi of Kumogakure. Kiba snarled as all hell broke loose.
The frightened innkeeper fled back to the backroom as the two groups clashed at the center of his inn. The two enemy shinobi jumped over the table, clashing their kunai against those drawn by Naruto and Shikamaru. Before they could fall back, the enormous Chouji barreled into them, crashing through the window.
The rest of the platoon quickly ran through the doors to find the three shinobi recovering from the initial collision. The enemy ninjas drew the long katanas strapped behind their backs as they prepared to engage again. Akamaru in turn transformed into a doppelganger of his owner.
The two beastlike shinobi clashed claws against swords as the fight continued. The other Konoha ninjas struggled to engage around the writhing bodies, wary of accidentally striking their allies in the fray. Before long, however, the impatient Naruto threw his kunai when certain that Kiba wasn't in its sights. The shinobi of Kumogakure easily dodged it. Looks of surprise crossed their face, however, when the full-fledged form of Naruto appeared behind them using his Body Flicker Technique. The male shinobi was unable to respond in time as Naruto delivered a swift kick to the face, sending him sprawling.
The enemy kunoichi's attempt at striking Naruto was cut short as a shadow danced its way across the street and latched to hers. She stood, frozen, as Shikamaru's Shadow Imitation Technique took effect.
"Nice one, Shikamaru!" Kiba yelled.
Before celebrations could continue, the male shinobi swiftly reengaged, snarling. With a wide sweep of his sword, he caught Kiba on the cheek and forced Shikamaru back. He further pushed at Shikamaru, attempting to break his concentration and his jutsu.
Forming a different seal and with an annoyed click of his tongue, Shikamaru uttered, "Kage Nui no Jutsu,"
The initial shadow linking him and the kunoichi together quickly split into multiple, wriggling smaller shadows. They lifted off the ground menacingly, attempting to impale the male shinobi. The surprised enemy weaved and dodged between the shadows, disengaging.
Naruto and Kiba rushed at the remaining enemy again, hoping to finish the fight. They underestimated his skill as he disarmed Naruto with a flick of his wrist. Striking Kiba with the hilt of his sword, he quickly maneuvered his way behind Naruto and brought his sword up to his throat.
"Naruto!" Hinata shrieked.
Shikamaru cursed under his breath as he dispelled his Shadow Sewing, focusing solely on rooting the kunoichi in place. Kiba quickly recovered from the blow, wiping a dribble of blood from his chin.
"What do you want from us?" Naruto snarled.
The cold steel inched closer to his throat as the Kumogakure shinobi stared menacingly at him.
"I want what you have taken from us," he muttered.
"We haven't-,"
"I WANT OUR MASTER BACK!" the shinobi screamed.
The Konoha ninja drew held breaths as the enemy threatened to decapitate Naruto. Before he had the chance, Naruto disappeared. He confusedly looked around, only to find Naruto leaning against a wall, the three-pronged kunai he threw earlier lodged into it.
"We haven't taken anything from you," he replied coolly, "I suggest you sheath your weapon."
The enemy looked as if he was about to protest, but refrained from doing so as Kiba brought his claws up to his teammate's throat. With a sigh of resignation, he sheathed his katana.
"Can we discuss the situation like grownups?" Shikamaru mocked.
The ninjas of Kumogakure sneered, but nodded. Shikamaru, seemingly content with that, dispelled his jutsu. The kunoichi tested her released muscles, cracking her neck to alleviate the stiffness.
"What seems to be the problem?" Shikamaru asked.
The two silently looked at each other, debating if they could trust the Konoha shinobi. Seeing as they didn't have much choice, the female of the two cleared her throat to speak.
"My name is Karui, and this is Omoi," she stated, jerking a finger at her teammate. The Konoha ninjas, in turn, introduced themselves.
"We arrived at Amegakure with instructions to scout out the territory. We were told that clashes might happen here soon, although we don't know why,"
"That's what we're here for," Shikamaru interrupted.
"We showed up in a platoon of three. For three days we stayed and gathered information. Just this morning, however, our master disappeared, and we couldn't find any trace of him. After some questioning around, we discovered that a platoon from a different village had just arrived. Connecting the dots, we arrived at your location and attacked," she concluded.
"Hold on," Shikamaru stated, raising an eyebrow, "who exactly is your master?"
The kunoichi blinked at him. "Killer B of Kumogakure. Why? Does it matter?"
A look of despair crossed Shikamaru's face. "I know who took him. It can only be-,"
Before he could finish his thought, a loud crash rang in the ninjas' ears. The group faltered back as a figure was thrown across the street, crashing into a shop. The shinobi of both villages stood stunned as the rain slowed to a stop.
They slowly turned their heads towards the direction where the figure had been thrown from. A large, snarling, three-headed dog stood in an alleyway, wings protruding from its broad back. Strange, ripple-like patterns interwove with the purple iris of the beast's eyes.
"What the hell is that?" Kiba cried.
The beast, not wasting any time, uttered a howl and charged at the group. Before the two groups of ninjas could react, the figure behind them moved to intercept, striking at the beast with a short katana.
"Kakashi-san!" Hinata called as she recognized the man. With astonishing skill, Kakashi danced around the beast's bites and claws, parrying its attacks with his blade. Kiba and Akamaru quickly moved to aid Kakashi in his endeavors.
"Killer B is the Jinchuuriki of Kumogakure," Shikamaru spoke quickly, knowing he could be interrupted at any moment, "common knowledge is that Pain and Akatsuki have been after the Jinchuuriki. Not only that, the Fourth sent us as a sizeable platoon solely because of the threat that Pain posed. With only a party of three-,"
"Pain abducted Killer B…" Naruto finished.
With snarls, Omoi and Karui engaged the demon dog as well.
"It's no use," a voice called from above, "he doesn't die."
With apprehension, the shinobi looked up towards the direction of the voice. They were met with the sight of a man with distinctively orange hair and multiple black-as-night rods sticking out of various parts of his body. Donning black robes covered in red clouds – the robes of Akatsuki – the man stared down at the ninjas with the same rippled eyes as his beast's.
"Pain," Naruto said, a shiver running down his spine.
A/N: Intense, amirite? Yeah so again, I'll be taking a break, probably for the rest of the week. I actually have the next two chapters written out as well as the rest of the story pretty much in my head, so stay tuned, I'll be back!