Chapter Five : Disruption with the Rain - Part Two - Najin's Fight
"Najin! No! You cannot die!" "Ahh!" I woke up screaming in bed. Mom came rushing in and held me, "What is wrong, Kumera?"
"It's Najin. I had a nightmare about her," I explained.
"Don't worry, my daughter. Your father is going to order Team Ino-Shika-Cho to check on the status of her ANBU squad. Najin will be home soon enough," Hinata said, kissing me on the forehead.
"Okay mom," I said giving her a hug.
"Now get some sleep. You have training tomorrow, remember?"
"Yes mom. Good night." I turned over and fell back asleep, still concerned for my sister's well being.
Meanwhile on the outer edges of Amegakure Forest...
"Naname, two enemy nin 3 o'clock, copy?" Najin said whispering into her communication device.
"Confirmed and seven more on our left flank as well," Naname responded. Naname has been a long time friend of Najin since she joined the ANBU. Long black hair and a skilled swordsman.
Najin covered her face with her hand, activating her byakugan to see through the blindspots. "There are more than we initially thought there would be. This could be a problem in the long run," she thought to herself. They were running low on provisions even though they had everything they needed sealed in transportation scrolls, they would have to head back to Konohagakure soon.
"What should we do, Najin?" Naname asked over the com. "If we don't move before sundown, we'll be spotted by the next shift that the Rain has on watch."
Najin thought it over and still wasn't sure what in the world they should do. "For once, I'm not sure. We could make it back to the Hidden Leaf in a day's time, but giving up on this mission will result in a possible attack on the village."
"So, we're pretty much screwed, huh?" Naname's voice came back over the com.
"Mmhm, pretty much," Najin admitted with sadness.
The Amegakure ninja they had been watching moved suddenly. "Where in the hell did they go?!" Naname questioned. Najin activated her byakugan trying to find the enemy.
"They've spotted us! Dodge formation Seven-Alpha!" Najin said calling out the moves to all ten ANBU there. Everyone got out of the way as an acid rain jutsu hit the trees that they had been hiding in. Najin was using her byakugan in haste trying to get location on the enemy. "Naname! Quarter turn, three incoming!"
"Right!" Naname said turning around. "Ninja Art: Troll Beast Summoning Attack!" Three giant demons appeared and took on one each of the invading ninja. "Why in the hell are they coming at us now?"
"It must have been ordered by their leader," Najin responded dodging another attack, "Eight Trigram Vacuum Wall Palm!" She forced back four ninja as she jumped left and right. "This is not good! If we don't get out of here soon, we'll be overwhelmed by the reinforcements."
"Ahh!" Naname screamed being bound by chakra threads and brought down to the ground.
"Naname! No!" Najin screamed teleporting to her friend via Flying Rajin. She cut the threads with a specially crafted kunai and teleported back to a safe area she had set up previously. Naname was injured and her breathing was strained. "Oh no, poison," Najin said looking at Naname's chakra. "It's the same as what the leader used on Kitami."
"Just leave me here, Najin..I'll be fine.."
"Naname, you need to just shut up and let me handle this," Najin said pulling out a poison removal tag. She placed one over the biggest injury to take out a majority of the poison. Naname gritted her teeth as the poison was removed from her body. "It's not much but it will help," Najin said pulling the tag off and setting it on fire.
"Quick! They're over here!" one of the Amegakure ninja announced.
"Najin, you have to get back to Konoha. Leave me," Naname said, coughing a bit.
"No, I will not leave you," Najin responded as she felt something hit her in the back of the head knocking her out.
When Najin came to, she was tied up with strong chakra cancelling ropes. She looked around and realized she couldn't activate her byakugan. "Damn it," she thought to herself. She saw three ninja standing nearby.
"She's awake. Sad that most of her comrades couldn't make it. Doesn't matter though. We have an Uzumaki girl under our control," one of the ninja said.
"We should send for Lord Haikarumu. He will want to see her for proof," another said.
One of the ninja walked up to her after the other two left, "Your friend that you were captured with has been placed under ICU care. She's not dead, as she is of use as well."
"Naname?" Najin thought to herself.
"Yes, it is Naname. Do not think I cannot read your mind. Watch what you think, Konohagakure-nin," he said before turning around to go sit outside.
It wasn't enough that she was bound in the blasted ropes, but now she was going to be used against her will by the leader of the Hidden Rain. At least Naname was safe and well, to a point.
She sat there in the dark before footsteps walked into the room she was being held in. "Well, well. If it isn't an Uzumaki. This must be my lucky day."
Najin looked up to see the mask-covered face of Haikarumu. She sat in silence watching him walk around her. As he touched her hair, she tried to pull it out of his hand to which he just grabbed her and pulled her back. "Ahh, the crimson hair of an Uzumaki but the visual prowess of the Byakugan. What an amazing combination."
She struggled feeling the pain of him pulling her hair back, "What is it you want to do with me?"
"Oh no, if I were to tell you that, you would find a way to transmit it to your Hokage. But wait, you can't, because that man over there has the ability to read minds and would stop you in an instant."
Najin was truly in a situation that she couldn't figure out what to do. "Let me go!" she said pulling against his grip, leaving some of her hair in his hand. "You will not get away with starting a war. Lord Hokage will not allow it."
He was holding her ANBU mask in his hand before he dropped it on the floor stepping on it, shattering into pieces. "You will know that it's not just your longevity or visual abilites that I want. It's the fact that you have something within you that will aid me in this war."
She knew at that moment that he wanted the power of the Nine Tails. She knew that she had a portion of it within her since her birth. She began to focus her energy to send it to the essence that lay within her.
"Do not think of trying to escape, ninja. You will be sent to the front line under our control soon enough." The leader turned around and left out of the room. The door was closed and Najin continued to focus her chakra. The ropes were fighting against it, but soon enough the red chakra of the Kyuubi was overwhelming the ropes.
She opened her eyes and looked outside. No one was around. She lifted her arms and the ropes fell to her side. She stood up and used her sage art that her father had trained her in to sense Naname's chakra. "I'm coming Naname." She used her flying rajin to teleport before her friend.
"Najin, what are you doing here?" Naname said surprised.
"Hush, we're going home," Najin said destroying the chains that were holding her friend.
"But we can't get out of here. It's impossible. The others...they were killed for trying," Naname said feeling downhearted about the situation.
Najin sensed other ninja coming down the corridor. "We have to try." She bit her thumb and summoned a toad, "Let us in your belly to go outside."
"Yes, Lady Najin," the toad responded opening it's mouth. Najin took hold of her friend and moved into the toad's mouth.
The toad combined with the floor and then reappeared outside. They were regurgitated by the amphibian. "Summon your cousin and get us on the road back to Konohagakure."
The toad placed it's foot on the ground and a giant toad appeared. "We need to get back to the village," Najin said explaining the situation. "We're not safe here."
"Hop on and I'll get you there in no time!" it responded.
"They've escaped! Scout the area and bring the Konoha ninja back!"
"They've just now noticed we've been gone," Naname said holding onto the frog.
"I know. I'm going to hold them off for a bit. Get her out of here. I'll catch up," Najin said turning back towards the stronghold.
"No! You can't fight al-" Naname tried to reason with her before being interrupted by the toad sealing her mouth shut.
As the toad jumped away, Najin transformed into the three-tailed cloak of the Kyuubi. She moved with such speed to attack the incoming attack. She knocked back several of the ninja and threw them into the building, causing holes to appear in the infrastructure. "Stop the Uzumaki!"
She was hit with kunai coated in poison as she was thrown back by a group attack by the Amegakure ninja. Najin panted from the poison entering her system. "Damn it, I'm not going to make it back." She collapsed on the ground and looked up at the sun in the sky. A shadow covered her over as she began to pass out.
"Choji! Knock them back but watch out for the poison!" Shikamaru said grabbing Najin up with his shadow possession jutsu, pulling her back to their location.
"Shikamaru! The leader is coming!" Ino said stepping back to take hold of the young Uzumaki girl.
"Let's get back to Konoha. Double time!" Shikamaru said running side by side with Ino as Choji caught up to carry the three of them faster.
"They're gone, Lord Haikarumu," one of the Ninja said reporting to the leader of the Hidden Rain.
"Gather our forces. Advance the plans of war. We're going ahead with our next plans," Haikarumu said in response, growing angrier by the second.