A/N: yes, this took too long to update. Yes, people got angry, yes I got flamed. No, I didn't take them seriously. No, I didn't think about my readers. Yes, I apologize.

Domo arigatou, Jason-kun, for giving me inspiration to get this story back up!

So, now, after a LONG wait, I present to you the fifth chapter!

Chapter 5

"ALRIGHT!" Lee yelled, waking everyone in the vicinity with an alarming start. "It's morning! Operation: Rescue Naruto-kun continues! Let's wake ourselves up with a fifty-mile dash!"

The sun wasn't even up yet.

"Lee…" Sakura complained, "Shut up."

Kakashi sat up. "While we're all awake, we should go ahead and get going." He groaned, beginning to pack his bed.

The five ninja were spread out on the ground with old paddings for beds and pillows. Not one of them slept soundly. With the exception of Lee, of course.

"Neji-san…wake up." Sakura said to him, gently shaking Neji's shoulder until he began to stir. Neji was used to Lee's 'morning call' and had learned to sleep through it.

"Where's Jiraiya-sama?" Neji asked, scanning the area as he sat up, rubbing his white eyes.

"He was not here when I woke up early in the morning. " Lee explained, "He was not outside the camp with I did morning exercises, either." He pondered, slipping on his Chuunin vest.

"You already did… exercises?" Sakura asked with a raised brow.

"I'll go find him. Quickly, pack up and be ready to leave when I get back." Kakashi said, slipping on his own Jounin vest and walking towards the river.

"Alright!" Lee exclaimed as Kakashi left, "Let's make is a competition! Who can pack up first? Without the light from the sun, it should be difficult – who is up for the challenge!?"

Neji and Sakura groaned.

It didn't take long for Kakashi to find Jiraiya. He was sitting on an old, dead tree which had fallen long ago.

"Good morning, Kakashi." Jiraiya noted silently before the Jounin could approach.

"Morning." Kakashi said in a dignified tone. He joined Jiraiya on the tree, staring out into the river ahead of them, watching the ripples sparkle in the moonlight. "You're worried about Naruto, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Jiraiya muttered after a moment's silence. "I've trained him and trained him until he nearly surpassed me. I knew the time would come when Akatsuki would show up, but to be honest, I thought he would stand a chance."

"Itachi is an S-ranked criminal with a terrible past. Nothing will stop him from reaching a goal, especially one he's been working towards for years, and that's the honest truth."

"Yeah." Jiraiya agreed quietly, "You're right."

"But, at the same time, we can't loose all hope in Naruto. He has the will of fire, and he's as stubborn s the Fourth. Not to mention he has a dream." Kakashi mentioned, watching as the sun began to rise.

"To become Hokage." Jiraiya said with a smirk.

"He said it himself…nothing will take that dream from him. The only things we can do now are search and pray."

Jiraiya and Kakashi eventually humped from the old, dead tree, filled their flasks full, and headed back to the clearing. Lee was doing some push-ups while Neji and Sakura watched with mixed expressions.

"Come on, let's get going." Jiraiya said, leading ahead. "We'll be walking all day and I plan to travel through most of the night – we don't want to waste any more –" He stopped, alarmed. "Do you sense it?" he asked Kakashi seriously

Kakashi gasped. "It's Naruto's chakra!" He yelled, dashing ahead. Everyone quickly followed.

"We can't lose it! It's not far away! Hurry!" Jiraiya yelled, dodging a large tree branch that nearly took his life.

Neji activated his Byakugan eyes and looked ahead. With his newfound strength, he could see chakra from up to five miles away.

"I see it!" He exclaimed, alarming everyone. "It's that chakra, that demon chakra! It's Naruto for sure – about four miles straight ahead."

Determined, everyone picked up their pace.

"Is he alone?" Kakashi asked.

"I can only see Naruto's chakra. If there is anyone else with him, their chakras are hidden very well." Neji yelled over the sound of the wind rushing past him as they all dashed through the trees.

"Feh. They're there, all right. Don't slow! Naruto's life is in our hands!" Jiraiya yelled. Everyone nodded, going past their limits and straining their muscles to go a little faster.

They didn't get far before Neji interrupted them.

"It's gone!" he yelled, "Naruto's chakra disappeared!"

"Shit!" yelled Jiraiya. "Can you see where it was?"

"Yeah – not far now. Let's hurry!" Neji yelled again.

Before long, Neji informed the group that they had reached the clearing where Naruto had been. They stopped and reached the ground.

"If Naruto's chakra is hidden again, he'll be impossible to see to my eyes unless he's within a mile of us." Neji said, checking around the clearing nevertheless.

Kakashi bit his thumb and made some hand seals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" He yelled, summoning Pakkun in a puff of smoke.

"Gah." The dog complained, "Is this about Naruto again?" He was rubbing his left eye with a paw, and had apparently just been awaken from a nice, long nap.

"Yes." Kakashi said, "He was here just minutes ago. Can you sense him or anyone else?"

"Of course. Naruto, Uchiha, and that demon."

"Search for clues." Jiraiya told the group. "A broken nail, a drop of blood, some fabric – anything that could help. And do it fast!"

"Why don't we just keep going?" Sakura asked, "They aren't far ahead – we're only falling behind!"

"We know the general location of their hideout is – or was – but their chakras are hidden and they could have gone in any direction. We need a clue." Kakashi told her, pulling up his headband to activate his Sharingan and search for any little clues.

Neji activated his Byakugan while Lee searched in the trees. Sakura searched the grass around her, and Pakkun watched idly.

"You know, I'm more of just a general scent tracker, myself." The dog complained. "So you'll forgive me. It's difficult for me to–"

"Hey! Over here!" Sakura yelled finally. Lee jumped from a tree to join everyone who crowded around her.

"What is it?" Jiraiya demanded. Sakura pinched something invisible between her fingers, and bent down to show it to the dog, who sniffed it.

"It's Uchiha's hair! Now I know what I'm looking for. Follow me!" He said, running off through the trees. Everyone jumped to follow. "They're moving fast – really fast! I'm sure we'll catch up soon, though. Just in case, conceal your chakras!" The dog demanded, suddenly taking an interest to the situation.

"We already have." Kakashi noted, attempting to pick up on someone else's chi

"Are you sure?" Pakkun asked, "I think they might have noticed. They seemed to have stopped."

"I see them!" Neji yelled. "The same guy from before, with that blade. The Uchiha is with him, he's carrying Naruto. They're both just standing there."

There was a silence. A question hung in the air – one they all wanted to ask, though feared the answer.

"Neji-kun…" Lee muttered. Neji turned his attention to him. "Can you tell if… I mean…."

"Is Naruto alive?" Jiraiya asked roughly. Everyone listened, tense.

"I…don't know. I mean, I can't tell. His chakra has been hidden against his will. From what I see of him, he shows no signs of life, but it could also be from whatever jutsu has been placed on him."

No one replied. Instead, they picked up their pace.

"Sensei," Sakura said, "If they know we're coming, do we just show up as they wish? Or should we ambush them?"

"No, they already know we are coming. There isn't anything we can do but appear in front of them and demand that we have Naruto back." He said. Jiraiya nodded.

"But," the sannin said seriously, "It's not likely they'll let us escape with Naruto. The Akatsuki are, after all, extremely dangerous, as every one of us here knows. They've been searching for Naruto for over three years, and are not about to give him up. Be aware that this could be one of the most dangerous fights of your lives, and we may not all come back alive." He warned. His words hung in the air.

Within a few agonizing minutes, Pakkun finally said, "Here" and jumped to a lower branch, then onto a clearing. They all landed high on their guard.

As Neji said, Kisame and Itachi had been waiting. Kisame had one hand on the handle of his mighty weapon while Itachi was holding Naruto over his left shoulder.

"No sooner is the kitsune's voice raised than its echo is heard among the shadows." Itachi said softly, as a sort of greeting.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled a look of sadistic fury on her face. Lee placed a hand on her shoulders to calm her.

"Stop where you are, Itachi." Jiraiya growled. "I will not just stand by and watch as you kill my student. You forget who I am…"

"Spare us." Kisame chuckled, "Besides, you're too late!"

"What?" Lee asked, alarmed.

"We placed a jutsu on Naruto-kun to deprive him of his chakra." Itachi explained with closed eyes. "However, he broke through it using Kyuubi's powers. He very nearly escaped. Thankfully, we caught up to him in time. But we wanted to make it impossible for him to escape again. We succeeded." He smirked.

"What are you saying?" Kakashi asked, a vein throbbing in his head.

Itachi opened his eyes, showing bring red pupils. "Uzumaki Naruto is dead."

A/N:Whoa. I have never gotten so many emails in my LIFE telling me to update a story! I'll tell you the reason it took so long to update – and that's simply because I didn't think this story was anything amazing, so I dropped it. But, that was selfish. All the emails told me that others like this story! So, I promise to update more often now. As long as one person is still interested, I'll keep the story up.

Next chapter has the big fight! And certain secrets, as well.