(Here's my newest chapter. Hope you guys had a good Thanksgiving and didn't over stuff yourselves. Well, enjoy my new chapter, friends.)
Last time, Naruto and Jiraiya were chosen by Hiruzen for a mission to locate Tsunade of the Sannin and bring her back to become the new Hokage. They left the village while unaware of a dangerous threat watching over them.
After leaving the village, the two stopped by a hill side, as Jiraiya spoke, "You wait here. I'm gonna go ahead into town and get some information." he walked off.
"You better not just be going to a pub and get hammered with ladies!" Naruto shouted to him. He just let it go and sat near a tree, "Maybe I can do some meditating while I wait." he got into position and began concentrating. As he did so, he felt relaxed while all his stress was washing away like a wave. Until suddenly a bad feeling crept over him.
He opened his eyes and saw standing before him were the two cloaked figures who were watching him and Jiraiya leave the village.
"Who're you guys?" Naruto asked, feeling bad vibes coming from them.
"Naruto Uzumaki, my partner and I would like to have a word with you." The shorter one answered.
Naruto squinted his eyes at him seeing the Sharingan eyes and deduced he was Sasuke's older brother Itachi, whom murdered their entire clan. He answered the figure, "A word?"
The tall one spoke, "That's right. You'd be wise to come with us, otherwise I may be tempted to force you." he reached for the hilted weapon on his back.
Naruto frowned, "Threatening me? Yeah that's good motivation... Not!" he jumped to the side and Airbended to blow the two back.
"What happened?" the tall one asked.
"That wasn't wind jutsu." Itachi noted.
"What else could it be?"
"That was Airbending." Naruto smirked.
"Airbending?" the tall one raised a brow.
"That's right. You two happen to be looking at the new Avatar."
"The Avatar?" Itachi asked.
"That's right. So you two better watch yourselves otherwise I'm gonna have to get dangerous with you." Naruto got ready.
The big one laughed, "Avatar or not, you really think we're going to be intimidated by some brat?"
"Kisame, don't take it for granted. The look in his eyes clearly says he's confident in himself."
"You think he can best two shinobi like us?" Kisame asked rhetorically.
"Well, you maybe." Itachi replied making Kisame face fault.
"That's cold."
"Bottom line, I ain't going anywhere with you two!" Naruto stomped his foot on the ground and bended the earth making it try and grab the two shinobi's feet.
"That was close." Kisame said.
"Be careful, Kisame. Naruto being the avatar was not something we've prepared for."
"Well, I'm not gonna run away from a half pint!" Kisame formed hand signs and launched a water shark projectile right at Naruto.
Naruto bended the earth and created a wall to block the attack. The attack knocked the wall down, but Naruto was still unharmed.
The two shinobi landed, and Kisame was ready to strike again, but Itachi held an arm out, "It seems we've got more company... Sasuke."
Naruto gasped, as they looked over seeing Sasuke staring down his older brother, "Itachi." he frowned.
"Sasuke, what're you doing here?" Naruto asked.
"I had the feeling you were in trouble and I followed the wind that guided me here. Brother, what're you doing here?" Sasuke demanded.
"This has nothing to do with you, Sasuke." Itachi replied rudely.
"Don't try and use those words on me. It's bad enough you killed our family. But if you lay a hand on my friend I will kill you!"
"You really think so?' Itachi asked in amusement.
"I do. Because I've trained my hardest so that one day I would end you and restore the Uchiha name!" Sasuke started forming a Chidori.
"Chidori?" Itachi asked curiously.
"Sasuke, be careful!" Naruto called.
"You're dead, Itachi!" Sasuke ran at Itachi with his jutsu sparking. When he tried to nail his brother with his jutsu, Itachi caught his arm as if Sasuke was moving in slow motion.
Sasuke gasped at this, as Naruto was shocked, "He caught his arm just like that?"
"Foolish brother. You're still too slow." Itachi kicked Sasuke away.
Sasuke groaned as he rolled across the ground, "Sasuke!" Naruto called before turning to the two shinobi, "Leave my friend alone, you jerk!" he lavabended the ground sending a fissure of lava right for them.
Itachi and Kisame jumped away to avoid the attack, as Kisame spoke, "I'll handle the gaki," he ran and drew his sword revealing it was covered in dark blue shark scales, "Now feel the power of Samehada!" he attempted to chop Naruto who stood his ground.
Suddenly in a poof of smoke a summoning toad caught the sword in mid chop. Standing atop the toad was Jiraiya, "Sorry to cut in." he joked.
"Ero-sennin!" Naruto gasped.
"Oh, great." Kisame groaned.
"Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki," Jiraiya began, "Aren't you two a fine pair of shinobi to be seen together?"
"Well, I look good next to just about anybody." Kisame joked back.
Itachi saw Sasuke getting back up. He quickly dashed to Sasuke and gripped him by the neck, "You're of no interest me at the moment, Sasuke."
"Shut up!" Sasuke cursed, "You murdered our family, and you will pay for your treason!"
Itachi scowled, "Maybe, but not today," his sharingan shifted to it's strongest form the Mangekyo, "Tsukuyomi!" Sasuke began screaming.
"What's happening to him?" Naruto gasped.
"Itachi's using Genjutsu on him." Jiraiya explained.
Sasuke ceased his screaming and was dropped to the ground looking unconscious, "Sasuke!" Naruto called out.
Itachi looked back at Naruto, "He's gone down for a nap. He won't be intruding now."
Naruto frowned, "Damn you! Damn you both!" he shouted as the Avatar State kicked in and he took off.
"Naruto!" Jiraiya called.
Kisame swung his sword at Naruto who dodged before blasting Kisame with Airbending and sent him landing on the ground next to Itachi.
"What the hell?" Kisame groaned.
"He's entered the Avatar State," Itachi gasped in amaze. He looked at his partner, "Kisame, we're leaving."
"What? You can't be serious!"
"We need to relay this new piece of information to the others." Itachi noted.
Kisame let out an exasperated sigh, "All right."
Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan again, and releases a blast of black flames on the ground Naruto and Jiraiya were close to. They jumped back and noticed Itachi and Kisame had vanished.
"They're gone." Jiraiya sighed.
"What're those flames?" Naruto asked, as he saw the black fire continue to burn.
"They're the flames of Amaterasu. A fire that cannot be put out even by water." Jiraiya explained, as he sealed the flames inside a scroll or risk someone or something else touching it.
Naruto ran over to Sasuke and checked on him, "Sasuke! Sasuke, wake up!"
Jiraiya approached, "It's no use, Naruto. The genjutsu Itachi used on Sasuke damaged his mind. It'll take high class medical jutsu skill just to heal him. We have to find Tsunade and make her come back home even more than before."
"I see," Naruto answered, as he summoned a clone, "Take Sasuke back to the village and inform Jiji of the events that just happened."
"On it." the clone answered as he picked Sasuke up and hurried back to Konoha.
"We better get a move on." Jiraiya insisted, as the two pressed on.
An hour had passed since they left and things had been silent between the two, which woried Jiraiya who hoped Naruto would talk to him, until finally.
"Ero-sennin?"
"Hm?"
"What was with those guys, Itachi and Kisame. What did they want from me? They didn't know I was the Avatar so it wasn't because of that."
Jiraiya answered, "It was because of your other power."
"Kurama." Naruto replied.
Jiraiya nodded, "They're from the Akatsuki organization. In fact they're the reason I spent a long time away from the village. I've discovered they're a group of S-class ranked nukenin who've abandoned their villages for several purposes. What I found out is they're targeting the tailed beasts and the Jinchuriki that house them."
"Any idea what they might want them for?"
"With any luck a way of controlling their mass power and use however they please." Jiraiya feared.
"I see." Naruto sighed.
"Even if you were able to fend them off for a short while, there are no doubt stronger members than those two. Even if you've unlocked the Avatar State it won't always save you." Jiraiya warned him.
"Yes, sir."
"But don't worry. With this jutsu I have planned to teach you, it'll be a great addition to your arsenal." Jiraiya lifted his spirits.
Naruto looked up, "You mean it?"
"I do." he smiled.
Naruto smiled back, "Thanks, sensei."
"No problem." Jiraiya replied, as they two pressed on.
Meanwhile far from the two by a secluded area, Itachi and Kisame were in a meditating position. While elsewhere in a dark cave astral forms of the two appeared along with several more apparitions.
"Well, did you find the jinchuriki?" the one in the center inquired of the two.
"We found it all right." Kisame groaned.
"But we've hit some complications." Itachi admitted.
"What complications?"
"Naruto Uzumaki is not only the jinchuriki for the nine tails, but he's the Avatar as well." Itachi explained.
Several of the apparitions gasped, as a female one spoke, "The Avatar? Are you sure?"
"Yes. He could use more than one of the bending elements." Itachi replied.
The leader pondered, "This is interesting. Who would've thought one of our targets would be the next Avatar?"
"So what do we do about it now?" One member asked.
"For now we remain in the shadows. Now that Itachi and Kisame have made themselves known, word will soon spread out and all the nations will be on high alert."
"Understood." they answered.
"You're all dismissed until further notice." the leader ordered, as the apparitions vanished.
Elsewhere in Amegakure, the land of rain, Another figure wearing the Akatsuki cloak along with orange hair and had purple eyes with multiple ovals in them looked out into the village, as another member who was the female approached. She had blue hair with an origami flower in it, amber eyes with lavender eye shadow, and a labret piercing.
"Nagato, if the Avatar has been reborn then don't you think there may still be hope for the ninja world?" the woman spoke.
The figure looked back at her, "Don't be naïve, Konan. The Avatar has only made eras of peace never eternal peace. That will be our job. And to do it we need the tailed beasts, even if one of them resides inside our targets."
"You're right." Konan nodded, until Nagato continued.
"Don't worry, the path toward peace has just begun." he declared.
(And there's my chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll see you all next time.)