Hey everybody. Sorry for the long wait. I'm terrible at keeping these promises... -_-.

Hopefully I'll be able to churn out some more. Enjoy!

"Speaking."

'Thinking.'

"Bijuu speaking."

'Bijuu thinking.'

Chapter 4: Kizukuri Kidnappings: Part II

Turn right. Turn left. Turn right. Sharp left. Another left. Jiraiya kept his eyes on the man with the blonde slung over his shoulder. They weaved in and out of Kizukuri's alleys, making their way to the very edges of the city. Despite the fact that Jiraiya was over 20 meters away, he was still able to keep track of the man under the cover of the night.

'How eerie. There's barely even a sound anywhere.' The man's footsteps were quiet, although not entirely silent. He was skilled, but not as skilled as Jiraiya, who hid himself under a genjutsu and walked so quietly it was as if he was gliding on top of the ground. A turn right. 'This is too easy.'

Jiraiya smiled at himself smugly as he continued to trail behind the kidnapper. The towering apartments and rundown buildings made a network of narrow winding alleys. It was a labyrinth. It would have been easier to get a bird's eye view and trail the man from the tops of the buildings, but Jiraiya didn't trust the stability of the roofs. When he had first tried to jump onto the roofs of one of the buildings, the ceiling caved in and collapsed under his weight, causing him to fall onto the second floor. The kidnapper turned at the sound of tumbling rubble and stared at the old building as dust and debris flew into the air. Luckily, the kidnapper seemed to think nothing of it and continued walking as if it was a regular occurrence – it probably was.

The man made another sharp turn to the left, and Jiraiya followed suit. Upon clearing the corner, the sannin came face to face with a brick wall: a dead end.

"What the hell?" Jiraiya looked around, but there were no trap doors or hidden entrances. There were only towering bricks stacked together and held with mortar to form a solid wall. There was no illusion here. There wasn't anywhere the kidnapper could have possibly gone, so where did he go? "Shit…"

XXXXX

The first thing Naruto heard was screaming. The blonde grimaced as his senses slowly returned to him, starting with his hearing. It started off as a muffled cry, but slowly became clearer and clearer until he realized exactly how high pitched and sharp the screams were. His heartbeat quickened as his mind processed the screaming. 'What could be making her scream like that…' He assumed it was a girl – no man could scream like that.

Then his taste came back. The cloth with the drug left a bitter taste in his mouth, causing him to retch in disgust. He coughed a few times before taking in a deep breath, smelling nothing but cold dusty air. He realized he was lying on a cold surface.

"Hey, you feelin' okay?"

Naruto sat up and looked around, only to be greeted by continual darkness. He stopped and blinked his eye a few times. It only took a moment for him to register the fact that he was in complete darkness. There was no source of light anywhere. So he did the next best thing, he pumped chakra into his eyes. While the left half of his vision remained the same – completely dark – the right side lit up as orange tendrils swirled together to form shapes. He recognized the many vertical bars parallel to the ground: prison bars.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

The blonde's head snapped in the direction of the sound. The screams had died in the background, leaving nothing but silence. He saw an outline of a boy, leaning against the corner with his arms huddled around his legs.

"Yeah, I can hear you." Naruto replied quietly. With their close proximity, there was no need for any yelling. Even whispers would have been more than enough.

"Ha. At least I've got some company before I go."

"Go where?" Naruto's question was met by silence. The boy had stopped talking.

"So, my name's Jin. You?" Jin ignored the question.

"Naruto."

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too." The two sat in silence for a brief moment. "So where are we?"

"No clue. I woke up the same way you did. Only I had this girl with me. Her name was Miki. She woke up with somebody named Kenta. The line continues…"

"Where is she now?" Once again, Jin was silent. At least he was until another screamed echoed in the walls.

"T-there… there she is…" Jin's voice trembled as he began to cry. He wept quietly in his arms, huddled in a dark little corner. Naruto's eyes widened in sheer terror and his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. Whatever happened to Miki was bound to happen to Jin as well. It was only a matter of time. "I-I…I'm s-scared…"

Naruto could see Jin's body twitch as Miki's bloodcurdling screams continued to reverberate in the cell. Naruto could hear Jin whispering to himself.

"I'm just dreaming. I'm just dreaming. This is just a dream. I'm at home on my bed. Just a dream. Mom will wake me up. Mom's coming. Don't worry." Another scream pierced the room as Jin began breaking down and crying hysterically. "I just want to go home! I just want my mom!"

Naruto could only grimace and feel the terror the other boy was feeling. Where was Jiraiya? He was supposed to bust the boy out.

"Hey, get a hold of yourself." Naruto walked up to Jin and shook his shoulders. The other boy continued to cry. Naruto slapped his hand across the boy's face. "Hey! Listen!"

The other boy fell over, stunned.

"What?"

"Look, I'm going to get us out of here, okay? Just stop crying."

"How? They've got us locked in here."

"No, look. I've got keys." He rattled the pair of keys in his hands. Jin heard the ringing metal and he took a deep breath.

"Where'd you get those?" Jin walked over to the sound of rattling metal and lo and behold, his fingers found themselves on a set of keys.

"They were hanging on the wall on the side. If you reach up and jump, your hand can reach the hook." Naruto grabbed Jin's hand and brought it up to the wall. Stretching, they managed to graze their fingers over a piece of metal jutting out of the wall: the hook. "See?"

"No, it's too dark to see. How did you know they were there?" Without any sort of vision, the keys would be nigh impossible to find. It was a good place to put the keys, as long as the room was pitch black – it usually was. Luckily for Naruto, Kurama's eye worked perfectly in the dark.

"Let's say I've got a few skills to help me see in the dark…" Naruto walked across the prison bars before his eyes were level to an orange square. 'The lock.' Reaching around the bars, he fit one of the keys into the lock. All it made was a little 'click' and the door swung open, the rusty metal hinges grinding on itself, causing a horrible screeching noise. Luckily for the two boys, the sound was drowned out by the girl's screams.

Naruto ran up and turned a switch on the wall. A small buzz of electricity could be heard as a single hanging lamp sparked to life. Finally, they could see properly. Naruto turned to look at Jin. The boy had pitch black spiky hair, much like his own. His eyes were red from crying, but Naruto could see two onyx eyes stare back at him. Jin couldn't have been any older than Naruto was.

"Nice to finally see you for the first time."

"Likewise."

Naruto walked over to the only other door and grabbed the handle, preparing to open it. He was about to before Jin quickly grabbed his wrist.

"No!" Naruto turned to look at the boy. Jin only shook his head. "That's where they're coming from. That's the room."

Jin's emphasis on 'the room' made it quite clear it was a room they did not want to go through. Naruto could imagine the girl was on the other side.

"Then what?" Naruto let go of the handle, and Jin let go of his wrist before turning around and pointing to the ceiling. His finger was direct at the opening of an air vent covered by a metal plate with holes and four steel bolts. The room had to have some sort of ventilation or else the prisoners would die from suffocation. It was perfect method of escape.

"Lift me up?" Jin grabbed the keys as Naruto bent down and let Jin stand on his shoulders. The blonde strained to keep both Jin and himself up. "Just keep it like that a little longer…"

Jin's hands went straight to unscrewing the four bolts on the ceiling. The key made a good pseudo-screwdriver as one by one, the bolts came tumbling down. Upon unscrewing the last one, Jin grabbed the metal plate and handed it to Naruto who dropped it on the ground. Once again, the screams they heard from outside drowned out the ringing of the metal as it hit the cold concrete floor.

"Okay, we're good. Lift me up a little higher…" With a surge of strength, Naruto lifted Jin by the feet. "Got it. "

The ventilation shaft made a 90 degree turn from a vertical pipe to a horizontal pipe, allowing Jin to get a good grip on the edge. The boy hung there for a brief moment before lifting himself so that his arms were on top of the shaft's ledge. Making sure he was secured, het let himself hang off the edge.

"Naruto, grab onto my legs and climb up!" Jin's legs dangled down out of the mouth of the shaft, out of Naruto's reach.

"Jin, I'm going to have to jump. Are you going to hold up there?" The other boy gave an okay before taking a deep breath and preparing himself. "Here we go!"

Naruto bent down and jumped with all his might and latched onto Jin's ankles. Jin grunted as he tried to support both the weight of himself and Naruto with only his arms. It was proving difficult. Jin felt his muscles burn to keep the two off the ground. As the raven haired boy held his position, the blonde started climbing up the boy's body. From ankle to thigh to waist to shoulder, and finally, to the top. Naruto clambered past Jin and sat in the ventilation shaft, the tips of his spikey blonde hair grazing the top of the metal tubes. With some of Naruto's help, Jin too managed to get above the ledge and into the horizontal shafts. The two sat there, focusing only on recovering their energy. Sweat poured off their faces as they grinned to each other.

"Hah. We. We made it." The two chuckled between breaths. "Now let's keep going."

XXXXX

To say he wasn't mad was an understatement. He was downright pissed. Jiraiya cursed before kicking a garbage can, watching the metal dent under the force of his foot. The now crumbled piece of metal landed with a crash, spilling its contents all over the ground. 'Fuck. Wait what the…'

Jiraiya peered closer at the place where the trash can used to stand, and brushed his fingers over the concrete. Under the cover of the night, the darkness made it difficult to see and perceive. The light from the moon barely reached the inner maze of buildings he was in. 'Light. I need light.'

He reached into one of his various hidden pockets and procured a matchbox. Taking one of the sticks out, he swiftly grazed the wood against the rough surface of the box, letting the friction ignite the head of the match. There was a small burst of light before a steady fire emanated from the tip, casting a dim glow on the alley. Bringing the match closer, Jiraiya's lips curled into a smile as he brushed his fingers over the concrete once more, this time, tracing the various markings of ink on the ground. 'A seal?'

Moving the black trash bags from the corner of the dead end, Jiraiya followed the intricate design from the trash can all the way along the brick wall. Had he not moved the items that were blocking his view, the seal would have remained hidden, even in the midday sunlight. It seemed like luck was on his side. Inspecting the seal, he deduced the seal must have been some method of transport, bringing the kidnapper and subsequently, Naruto, to wherever they were at the moment. Jiraiya placed his hand on the seal and channeled his chakra through, watching the design light up a very dim blue.

Sometimes, it paid off to be a seal master.

XXXXX

"Hey, do you know where we're going?" Jin scurried behind the blonde as they made their ways through the ventilation shafts. They had been crawling for a good amount of time, and the screaming had just about stopped, meaning Jin would be up at bat very soon.

"Uh, no. Not at all, but this seems promising." Naruto passed another ventilation opening, and peered through, seeing stacks of crates in a dimly lit room. It was completely silent, with a single guard standing underneath the shafts to keep watch. "Looks like there's only one guy, too. Want to go?"

Jin looked at the guard who was moving his head left to right. Funny thing is, he never looked up.

"Go."

The two boys kicked the metal plate, causing it to rip from its screws and plummet to the ground. The guard, hearing the crash, turned his head up, only to have his face meet with the swift metal plate. He was out cold before his body even reached the ground. Naruto clumsily fell on body of the guard, using him as a cushion while Jin managed to land on one of the crates. The boy leapt from one box to the other, landing gracefully.

"Pfft. Show off." Naruto grumbled as he picked himself off the guard. Luckily, the guard had provided enough cushion to soften Naruto's plunge and allow him to walk away with a few minor bruises. "What is this place?"

"Looks like a warehouse." The room was larger than the two had expected. Towers upon towers of crates could be seen in all directions, some of them almost reaching the top to graze the high ceilings. "Come on, let's get out of here."

It was at that moment, they heard an unknown voice pierce the silence.

"Hey! What was that noise?"

The two looked at each other before panicking. Neither of them expected other guards around. Luckily enough, there were multiple boxes to use as cover. And so, the pair climbed on top of the boxes as quickly and as silently as possible, hoping that they would be kept out of sight.

"What the hell happened here?" Two guards came around the corner of crates and saw the one guard lying on the floor with blood coming down his head. "Holy shit."

The guards ran up and inspected their fallen comrade, making sure he was all right and still alive before looking at the metal plate lay next to the fallen body. One of the guards picked it up and held it in his hands and held back a laugh.

"Hey, look at this. I think this is what took out our little friend." He lifted the plate up and showed the other guard, and they both shared a few laughs.

"Ha! All right, let's bring him to the docs. They'll patch him up easy." The two guards moved to either side of the unconscious man and slung the man's arms over their shoulders. They dragged him away, muttering something about how "the fuckin' sky's fallin'."

"Phew. That was close." Jin muttered before wiping the sweat that had formed on his brow.

"Yeah, now let's get out of here before the guards comes back."

The two boys moved through the massive storage room with relative ease. The only two other guards had left with their fallen comrade, leaving the storage room unattended – not that anything really needed attending in there. Upon reaching an exit corridor, Naruto took the first stride and started walking forward.

"Stop! Don't put your foot down!" He didn't expect the outburst, so it startled him as he let out a little yelp. Upon hearing those words, Naruto locked his muscles and froze on the spot, foot only inches away from the floor. He slowly turned his head towards Jin.

"What was that for?!" He hissed, putting a finger up to his lips, signaling Jin that the other boy's outburst was way too loud.

"Look." Jin pointed at something right underneath Naruto's feet. The blonde took the step back and bent down, staring at the small glint of light that he was about to step on. "Tripwire."

"Whoa. That was close." Naruto flicked the wire, watching it vibrate. Whatever trap the wire was primed to activate, Naruto didn't want to find out. It was at that moment that the blare of an alarm rang through the corridor and storage room.

"Naruto! What the hell?! I told you to not move!" Jin exasperated, slapping his palm against his face.

"What?! No! I didn't step on it. I swear! Look, it's still here!" Naruto hastily plucked the string again. Yet this time, he mentally cursed as he used too much force and the string snapped. 'Uh oh…'

The bright white lights hanging above them dimmed and turned red as another siren rang out.

"Run!"

XXXXX

Jiraiya sprinted down the hallways, taking out the enemies one by one underneath the eerie red glow. He laughed at the entrance he made…

Jiraiya felt the world swirl and disappear as he reappeared in a room, this time, with steel walls. There were many guards doing all sorts of activities: playing cards, drinking, laughing, talking, and sleeping, yet every single one of them had one thing in common: they were staring at him. Jiraiya felt the need to break the ice.

"Would you like to hear about our lord and savior Jesus Chri-" He was cut off as one of the guards yelled.

"Sound the alarm!" They all began getting up and into fighting stances, pulling out various weapons.

"Well, I guess not." He shrugged as he leaped in and engaged the guards in battle, his hands a blur.

He had gone through the installation and taken down enemy after enemy before sealing any scrolls or valuables in a scroll in his pocket. He had found a group of scientists and doctors huddled around a person, or at least what used to be a person. From the lack of clothing, Jiraiya could tell it was female, but the entire body structure was wrong. There were joints in places he had never seen before; on places that shouldn't bend: the thigh, the forearm, the shin. Upon killing the scientists and doctors, he combed through their items, taking vials and documents and papers, before hearing a voice. It was barely audible. The voice was rough and coarse, most likely from screaming.

"Kill me." And he did.

Shaking his head to get rid of the memory, Jiraiya continued on his way. As he reached the end of a hall, he heard footsteps on the other side, coming closer and closer. Taking the element of surprise, he knelt behind the corner and concentrated.

XXXXX

Naruto and Jin hid behind a corner as they heard footsteps approaching. It seemed like they would have to actually engage a real fight. Naruto turned to Jin, whispering quietly so the approaching enemy couldn't hear.

"Jin. Listen, I want you to trust me on something. Whatever I do next, don't be scared. Okay?" Jin eyed him curiously before nodding. "Okay. Let's go Kurama."

Naruto shifted his bandage over and felt weak as the Kyuubi gained control of his body. His smiled a wide toothy grin, showing off a row of pearly white fangs. Red chakra warped around his hands, forming into sharp claws.

"Stay back, kid."

He rounded the corner.

XXXXX

As his target approached, Jiraiya morphed his chakra into his hand and spun it, leaving a small blue orb in his hand. As he heard his enemy round the corner, Jiraiya leaped out and plunged it into flesh, watching as the technique ripped skin and grinded flesh. He widened in surprise at the next person he saw.

"Naruto!"

XXXXX

Kurama knelt down and rounded the corner, driving his claw into his attacker and watched as his claws pierced straight through.

"What the hell, old man?"

He pushed the now dead body of the guard he had killed off of his claw, watching as the body slid off the blade of chakra. As his power subsided, Kurama let the swirling cloak of chakra dissipate.

"You took your sweet time, huh?"

Jiraiya realized the boy in front of him was actually the fox before slowing down his impending hug. Better play his cards carefully. He was happy to see the boy alive, and in good condition.

"Well, you know I had to go around clearing the entire installation." Jiraiya noticed another face cowering in the corner. They made eye contact before the other boy quickly dashed back and hid his face. "Who's your friend?"

"His name's Jin." Kurama reverted back to Naruto, once again switching the bandage on his face. "We didn't get to talk much, but he's okay. Jin, meet Jiraiya-sensei."

"H-hello." Jin came out of the corner and bowed to Jiraiya. The kid knew his manners. It wasn't everyday someone paid their respect towards their elders. The boy was shaken up and his eyes occasionally darted to Naruto. Was it fear?

"See, now why can't you be like him?" Naruto merely grumbled and rolled his eyes, muttering something about 'old geezers'.

"Now what?"

"Now we get out. I've got all of their documents sealed right here." Jiraiya tapped the bag that was slung over his shoulder.

"How? Where's the exit?"

"What do you mean 'where's the exit'?" Jiraiya scoffed at the question. "You tell me. Where do you think the exit is?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking!"

"Well neither do I, so I'm going to ask you one more time. We're underground, so where do you think the exit is?" Jiraiya was amused. He looked at Naruto's confused face and waited until the boy understood his implications. As Naruto's gears whirled and understood what Jiraiya was saying, the confused look disappeared as his lips curled into a grin.

"Well now that you mention it, I think the exit is right up here." A black ball of energy appeared in the boy's palm, much like the rasengan. The only major difference was that Kurama's technique didn't spin the chakra left, right, up and down. Instead, it was simply an incredible amount of chakra densely compacted into a tight ball. The ground beneath the boy cracked under the weight of the technique as Kurama used all of the boy's strength to hold it up. Bringing it up to his mouth, he engulfed the orb. Jiraiya watched as the pitch black ball disappeared down the blonde's throat before the boy's body suddenly expanded beyond human capability.

"What the hell…?" Kurama only smirked before nodding his head back and opening his mouth, letting the concentrated energy release from inside his body. The technique blasted forth from the boy's mouth in a flash of red light, sending a beam of energy straight to the ceiling. Upon hitting the installation's concrete structure, the technique exploded, punching a large hole that lead straight to the outside world above. A shockwave rumbled and echoed through the installation, taking out the blaring sirens and flashing red lights. Only once the rubble cleared, did moonlight enter, spreading light once more around the area.

"Bijuu…dama…" Kurama shifted the bandage back before falling down on the ground, exhausting all of the boy's energy in the destructive technique. Naruto could feel the fatigue in his body and slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

Jiraiya stared at the blonde who now lay flat on his back. The technique, or at least the basics of the technique, looked exactly like Minato's rasengan. He would question about it later. A voice broke his train of thought.

"Whoa." Jiraiya turned his head to look at the speaker, and chuckled, realizing it was only Jin. The boy had fallen on his bottom and merely stared at the giant hole, only meters above them. "That was crazy."

"Yes. Yes it was. I was going to make an exit myself, but it seems like the boy's got it covered. More importantly, are you okay?" Jiraiya walked up to Jin and offered a hand that the boy took. Jiraiya lifted him up and helped him stand.

"Me? Yeah, I'm okay. The technique made it really hard to breathe, but it's over now. The shockwave just threw me onto the ground." Jin panted as he held himself together.

"Impressive. A normal person would've passed out from the pressure. I'm surprised you're still standing."

"Not without much effort." The two shared a brief laugh before looking at the blonde who was now snoring. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Of course, listen to him. He's sleeping when he should be working. Ah well, I guess he deserves some sort of rest."

"He...he did it. He killed a man…" Jin's hand began to shake in memory of Naruto's brutal murder of the guard. "He told me not to be scared, but… looking at him. I don't know what to think anymore."

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya eyed the boy curiously.

"Look at him. He seems just like me. He looks a little different, but we're the same age. But here he is, killing people five times our age while I can barely raise my voice against my father… Tell me, how does it feel to kill someone?" Jin raised his head, and Jiraiya could see dark and hidden secrets underneath. The man thought about if briefly before answering.

"It's the worst feeling you could ever experience. Knowing that you just ended somebody's life before it was due. Knowing that that person's loved ones will never see that person again. It's sickening."

"Then how does he do it so easily…?"

"He doesn't."

"What do you mean, he doesn't?" Jiraiya shook his head before picking up the blonde and slinging the boy over his shoulders.

"That's not my story to tell. Ask him yourself."

XXXXX

Jiraiya unfurled the scroll on his back and unsealed the contents. Dozens of scrolls poured out. Picking one out, he opened it and began to read.

Day 26:

This month has been going well. The steady flow of children from Kizukuri gives us plenty of subjects to test on. The new agent that accelerates bone growth and recovery has many slight side effects. It works, by Kami, it works, but the subjects are in a substantial amount of pain. They scream or die every day, but it is a necessary sacrifice. Their contributions shall push forward one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of this era.

2 minutes. That's all it takes: 2 minutes. From shattered pieces of calcium and bone tissue, a completely new femur, or collarbone, or wrist, or hip, or ankle can be grown in only 2 minutes! Its application in the field will prove most rewarding.

Our stores are running low, but a new shipment of both children and medicine should arrive tomorrow evening. I know not of how this medicine is being created. The ability to grow bones. What a powerful tool. He has promised us fortune, and from our progress, that fortune is close at hand.

Man, this chapter was a pain in the ass to write. I have no clue why, but I just didn't get a good feel for it. I've been getting really tired lately and I have no clue why, although it's a poor excuse not to continue writing. I'm just hoping the quality hasn't gone down too much. Anyways, this story is far from over. I have a ton of ideas to dish out. The hard part is how I'm going to dish them out. Most people thought that I should continue this Naruto + Jiraiya adventure with short time skips in between, so that's what I'm going to do. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter, so give me some insight by leaving a review. Thanks!

-Sakrosankt