Chapter 51: Terror and Fear
~~~
The word echoed through their brain -- the word "Akatsuki". In a split second, Itachi and Kisame disappeared, searching for their destined suspect.
After a few moments, Asuma and Kurenai helped Kakashi get back on his feet. They knew the reason why they appeared now and not earlier.
The village is currently at its weakest.
It was only truly hanging on one leg; the rest were destroyed and needed to be reconstructed by the hands of man.
The Akatsuki took advantage of this and chose to strike the village now than earlier.
"We need to stay on alert," said Kurenai, getting a nod from Asuma and from Kakashi. They were now entering an era of change that will change the shinobi world as they know it.
And this was only the beginning of the evolution.
"We need to get Kakashi to the hospital -- even adequate rest will do it." Asuma carried Kakashi on his back as they launched themselves to safety.
Over with Itachi and Kisame, they were back on their objective of finding their needed suspect at hand. Itachi regulated a steady breathing pattern.
"Where's our next stop?" Asked Kisame, wanting to find and establish contact with the suspect that they were ordered to bring back to the base.
"We just have to look around for his chakra signature. Earlier ago, he was at the same dango shop that we were eating at, correct?" Kisame nodded even though Itachi didn't need him to answer it.
He already knew he was correct.
"And he was aware of our presence as well. The only question that we have is: Does he know we are after him? If so, then he must have something up his sleeve to fend for himself." Kisame nodded once again, laughing at Itachi's demeanor.
"He's a kid -- we shouldn't be so wary of him." Itachi shook his head.
"If we were to underestimate him, it could create a setback for us and the Akatsuki. That should not happen." Kisame was amused at Itachi's need for efficiency.
~~~
Naruto and Jiraiya had finally reached their destination. The first thing Jiraiya did once arriving was attempting to find a hot spring.
"Naruto! You do you for a little bit! Or you can reserve a room at a motel!" Yelled Jiraiya as he wandered off to his needed research.
Naruto sighed, looking at the amount of cash he had. And surprisingly, he just had enough to get something and also reserve a room in a motel.
Though that'll only be determined after he buys the item that he needs.
Cloaks are usually useful to hide the weapons I have and to create surprise attack in point-blank situations. Plus, they can look cool on certain individuals.
Naruto walked around in this unfamiliar town that was just ways out of the vicinity of Konoha. His eyes searching for a clothing shop that was selling a cloak that fit his size.
It didn't need to be swallowing his body whole. It just needed to be adequate for Naruto's size.
After quite some time, Naruto finally managed to find the ideal store tat was selling a cloak with varied sizes. It didn't take too long for Naruto to find the ideal size.
It was a pitch-black cloak with think yellow -- no -- a golden-color that ran along the very edges of the cloak.
Thread intersected with one another to connect the two size slightly to permanently cover just tiny bit of his upper-half of his torso.
There was a reason why he chose this one. The reason was quite simple. It was just simply the most cheap one on sale.
Putting his head through the hole of the cloak, it shadowed over his shoulders and the threads connecting it all to increase the stability of the cloak landed at the very center of his chest.
Looking into the mirror, Naruto saw himself. The only thing visible when he stretched his arm out was the lower part of his torso.
He immediately saw the benefits of using the cloak.
The cloak hides away anything suspicious from the target's view. This will be useful in future cases. Naruto thought to himself.
The dagger does not fit the holster or the pouch from my back -- I'll have to resort to creating another seal on my arm. Naruto thought to himself.
Looking at himself once again, he thought about the fact that he'll be having to get new cloak in a few years to accommodate his ever-so changing body and height.
But that was fine.
Walking outside once he bought the cloak, he continued to wear it, letting it just stretch and end to his waist.
Asking around, he tried asking people for directions of the cheapest motel in the area. Naruto was once again in a very tight budget.
Once finding the motel, Naruto reserved a room for both him and Jiraiya. The duration of their stay at the motel was still unknown.
"Now, to create another seal on my arm." He wished he didn't mess up his previous seal, but complications were inevitable due to his inexperience in the art of fuinjutsu.
With his mind laser focus on his making this seal as good as possible, Naruto started to create the seal on the inside of his forearm.
His fingertips created an intricate array of seals that were quite small. Once finishing, Naruto decided to test if he he managed to create it to where he could seal more than 2 items.
"No improvement," Naruto said, sighing with disappointment laced within it. Fuinjutsu was most definitely something that he should improve on in the future.
Once finishing, he decided to sharpen up his abilities in kenjutsu. After practicing for awhile, Naruto realized how much he was lacking in skill as of right now.
He had been so caught up in refining and improving his skills in the basic 3 techniques: Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu.
Naruto never really thought of the subcategories right up until now. The only way Naruto was able to actually do 'kenjutsu' was him using taijutsu movement with the combination of a dagger or blade.
He had no real stance or fluid movement that someone who is proficient in kenjutsu would actually have. Naruto sighed, knowing he still has a long way to go.
KNOCK!
KNOCK!
Naruto turned his head to the door. He immediately tensed up. This was odd, there was no way that the person behind the door was Jiraiya.
There is no way that old man would be able to stay silent for even 5 seconds. Naruto told himself, narrowing his eyes. He silently walked up to the door, readying himself for anything.
There's no doubt — It's Itachi and the other guy. Naruto mused, getting ready unseal his dagger or blade ready for a battle. He opened the door and immediately jumped to attack the intruder.
His abdomen was met with a kick. Naruto then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He appeared from the ceiling in the hallway. Launching himself off the ceiling, Naruto went between Itachi and Kisame.
He couldn't leave any room for error. Unsealing his blade, he used it as a conductor due to the metal of the blade having the ability to conduct one of his 3 nature affinities.
Lightning.
Tendrils of crackling lightning appeared from the blade, extending the output of his affinity, Naruto jumped and stuck himself to the walls and then launched himself once again.
His azure eyes landed on Kisame. The blade that he had — Naruto recognized it. Madara had taught him lots of things during his early years, and the 7 Swordsman of the Mist were one of them.
"Samahada," muttered Naruto, knowing the potential power of the Samahada in the hands of a very experienced swordsman. His heart was beating at a rapid rate.
Feeling the air behind waver, Naruto knew Itachi was behind him. Gritting his teeth, he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan and just barely managed to dodge the incoming attack from Itachi using Shin sekai.
5 seconds of the future is all I need. I just barely managed to dodge the attack. I would've been hurt badly if I got hit. Naruto thought, increasing the output of the lightning chakra even more to make Itachi back away.
"You're a feisty one," said Kisame, swinging the Samahada at Naruto. Hiding his Mangekyou Sharingan away from the view of Kisame and Itachi.
Naruto landed on the ground then continued to move forward. He was barely even able to keep up with them. The tendrils of lightning unwavering, Naruto lessened his output to the minimum.
"Likewise," said Naruto, appearing just a few meters away from them. His deep Scarlet eyes facing their ways. Itachi was slightly taken aback at this development.
A Mangekyou Sharingan. He's an Uchiha. Itachi thought at this sight. Naruto walked toward the two, his hand gripping his blade tightly and his cloak following from behind.
Naruto was at a major disadvantage. Leaping in the air, he made his way toward them. Increasing the output once more, lightning filled a large area around Naruto.
"Why are you after me," said Naruto, appearing right in front of Itachi, shoving the blade clasped around his hand at Itachi's eye. But, even then, Itachi dodged the attack with ease.
Sensing Kisame, Naruto saw the bandaged blade of his swipe down at Naruto. Reacting fast, Naruto placed his hand on the ground as a way to make himself stable before using the same hand to boost himself up and kick the blade away from him.
Madara had taught him the dangers of facing this blade and that even touching it can jeopardize his life.
I just need to be quick enough before those bandages gets shredded apart by the skin of a deadly shark. Naruto thought, stepping back a couple of step, his heart beating fast.
"Not bad," Naruto held his guard up, waiting for any attack to come his way. "To think another one of Itachi's clansmen were still alive after so many years." Kisame finished his words.
"I kept my heritage a secret, Kisame." He grinned at the mention of his name.
"So, you've heard of me?" Naruto nodded before noticing Kisame approach him in frightening speeds. Utilizing his Mangekyou, Naruto countered by dodging to the left.
I can't take advantage of the heaviness of the blade. Kisame's monstrous strength makes up for it. Naruto mused, channeling chakra to his feet and letting himself stick to the wall once again.
"Let me ask you guys again," Naruto disappeared. "Why are you guys after me." He finished, appearing right behind Itachi, the large tendrils of lightning making their appearance once again.
Kisame appeared right in front of him, letting Samahada siphon the lightning chakra from Naruto's blade. Cursing under his breath, Itach appeared right beside Naruto and kicked him to the nearest wall.
Ignoring his injuries, Naruto rolled to the side, dodging the incoming attack from Kisame.
"You are a suspect of being the Kyuubi Jinchuriki," Itachi told Naruto, confirming his theory of him being linked with the likes of Obito. This was troubling for Naruto.
"I'm not the Kyuubi Jinchuriki," lied Naruto. Kisame ignored these claims and continued swinging his blade at Naruto. He was having quite the hard time dodging the Samahada at a constant rate.
"Well, we won't know that for sure, won't we? You could lying to our faces." Naruto backed away, ducking down below to dodge and damaging blow from Kisame.
Naruto knew they weren't taking him seriously at all, but he just had to keep trying.
"Itachi!" Naruto widened his eyes at the sound of the voice. Looking at the owner of said voice, his eyes landed on Satsuki as she stared deadly at Itachi.
Shit. Naruto thought to himself as lightning built up from Satsuki's hand. The sounds of a thousand birds filled the entire hallway. This was going to end badly.
"I've fostered hatred for this moment!" Satsuki yelled, her fierce red eyes were filled with burning hatred for Itachi. She launched herself forward, generating speed to kill Itachi.
Naruto tried standing up, but Kisame interfered by striking the ground to block his way.
Screw this. Naruto took a leap as Satsuki closed in on Itachi. His Sharingan spun wildly. The future was ever-so shifting at great lengths at the hands of man.
An explosion occurred, destroying a part of the whole motel. Smoke clouded the area around them. After awhile, the wisps of smoke tore apart and revealed Naruto carrying Satsuki.
Susano'o? Itachi questioned as Naruto ran away with Satsuki in his hands.
"Let me go!" Satsuki yelled, wanting Naruto to let her go so she could finish what she started. Naruto refused, not letting her go for a second as the two Akatsuki members trailed behind them.
"Face it — we're both not strong enough to even remotely hurt them." Naruto made a turned, quickening his speed as Itachi and Kisame were closing in on Naruto and Satsuki.
Satsuki gritted her teeth, frustrated on how right Naruto was. If Naruto was admitting he couldn't fight someone of Itachi's caliber, then what chance does she have?
Making another turn, they were facing a dead end. Naruto, without stopping, decided use his Susano'o and smash open the wall, creating a way for them to break free from the motel.
Landing on top of the motel, Naruto let go of Satsuki.
"Find Jiraiya of the Sannin. Guy with white hair that's extremely long, loves women and is a pervert. Find him." Although reluctant, Satsuki nodded and jumped away to seek out Jiraiya.
Now facing Kisame and Itachi, Naruto decided it was time to go without restraining himself. Even if he wasn't powerful enough to defeat them, he could at least hold them down until Jiraiya got there.
Unsealing his blade once again, Naruto dashed toward them. His heart was at a blaze, feeling the nervousness shadow over him. He deactivated his Susano'o not wanting to burn through his eye sight.
Tendrils of lightning appeared from the blades. Jumping in the air, Naruto threw the the lightning chakra-power blade at the two S-Rank rogue-nin.
The blade ripped and shredded through the air. Naruto created a Shadow Clone and made him throw the real Naruto back to retrieve the blade. Kisame blocked the blade, letting Samahada to siphon the lightning chakra once again.
Don't hesitate — Keep. Moving. Forward. Naruto felt the rush of adrenaline coexist with his nervousness to fight these two dangerous shinboi in front of him.
Grabbing the blade while in midair, Naruto jumped off of the Samahada just before Kisame could cut through the the soles of Naruto's feet. Throwing the blade at Kisame once more, Naruto inhaled and exhaled as he shunshined to the floors of the rooftop.
He unsealed his dagger, channeling the power of wind chakra through the metal. Leaping, Naruto had Kisame preoccupied with the blade. Looking up, Naruto saw Itachi catch blade without any problem.
Closing in on Kisame, Naruto threw the dagger with aggression powering his throw. Naruto could feel it — the same feeling that he first had with Zabuza.
What he had wasn't nervousness; it was fear.
He was in a battle that he couldn't win. The feeling of fear that he felt facing Zabuza was multiplied by many folds when facing Itachi and Kisame. Panting, Naruto knew it was only a matter of time before he lost.
Seeing the blade of his fly towards him, Naruto dodged to the side, feeling fatigue wash over him. God, he would've been able to do so much more if he hadn't recklessly overexert himself by attempting unnecessary things.
Itachi landed right next the blade and picked it back up. Without much effort, Itachi threw the blade once more at Naruto. Reacting quickly, Naruto duck down dodging his own blade.
Immediately after, Itachi appeared right in front of him sending a kick at Naruto. Though he just barely managed to reduce the damage of the kick by blocking with his forearm.
Getting blown back, Naruto twisted his body and regained his balance. He tried reaching out for his blade, but failed once Kisame appeared right in front of him and gave him a large gash that stretched out from one end of the leg to the other.
Naruto fell down, his balance broken by the sheer pain of the Samahada.
Kisame snatched the blade from the tiles of the roof and struck Naruto's left arm, further incapacitating Naruto. Widening his eyes, Naruto let out a scream of pain.
Huffing, Naruto was yet to give up on this battle. Creating a Shadow Clone, it jumped at Kisame. This gave enough time for Naruto to tear the blade out of his arm.
"That's enough," said Itachi, appearing right behind Naruto and kicked his leg so Naruto would be unable to stand. "This battle is over." Just as Itachi was about to render Naruto fully incapacitated, a cloud of smoke appeared, revealing Jiraiya behind the veil of smoke.
Though Naruto couldn't see the end of it.
He had lost.
~~~
He found himself in the hospital once again. This meant that he managed to not get taken by Itachi and Kisame. Sitting straight up, Naruto had thought course through his mind.
Those two. . . they could be reporting the fact that their suspect is an Uchiha. That's fine. Naruto clenched his fists. He was still too weak. If he can't improve quickly in the next few years, then his plans will fail.
"How long has it been?" Asked Naruto, sensing someone right beside the door.
"Around a week. You were severely injured," answered Shikamaru, lazily walking to Naruto's side and sat down in a chair next to the injured Naruto.
"While you were out we managed to get a new Hokage — Tsunade-sama." Naruto nodded, figuring that Jiraiya managed to succeed in the mission without his help.
"You really shouldn't be so focused on the loss. It's troublesome." It was hard for Naruto, that his current strength wasn't good enough and that he needed to continuously get better.
"I heard you fought two S-Rank rogue-nins. Your clothes were quite battered up — only the cloak managed to survive." Naruto nodded once more, knowing what he said was true.
"Did they ever say how long I'll be staying?" He asked, needing this information. Shikamaru yawned, nodding his head.
"Yeah, the nurses said that you were able to get out immediately after waking up from your nap." Naruto could tell Shikamaru was jealous due to Naruto was able to sleep for a whole week.
Letting Naruto get accustom himself with the environment and letting Naruto to change back to some decent clothes, Shikamaru left Naruto to do his thing.
Once Naruto was done, he escorted himself out alongside Shikamaru.
"Hokage-sama wanted you in her office. You probably already know what the Hokage wants." Naruto nodded, seeing as it was time for Naruto to become a Chunin.
Waving Shikamaru goodbye, Naruto sprinted towards the direction of the Hokage Tower. He passed by multiple people that were a blend of both shinobi and civilian.
Once arriving at the tall tower, Naruto went inside her office. He knocked on the door.
"Come in." Naruto heard the voice of Tsunade behind the door. Having the permission to enter the room, Naruto opened the door.
Her eyes locked on Naruto.
"Ah, I've been expecting you to be here for quite some time, Ahihcu Naruto." He nodded, seeing Tsunade smile as he stopped at the front of her desk.
"Well, the reason I needed you here was for your promotion because of your performance in the Chunin Exams and your contribution to the invasion that had
happened." Naruto was stayed silent, seeing this coming from a long way.
"Congratulations, Naruto -- you have been promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin." Naruto widened his eyes, only expecting himself to be promoted to Chunin.
(A/N: For those who do not know, a Tokubetsu Jonin are people like Ebisu who only excel in a specific area. Just a step below the actual cool Jonin-rank.)
"From your expression, you're probably thinking how you skipped a rank, no?" Naruto nodded, telling her that she was correct.
"Well, the council and I not only took account your excelling performance in the Chunin Exams, but also you defeating Gaara of the Sand." Naruto was confused with her.
I don't necessarily excel in a specific area, but I'm very proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. By that standard, I should be Chunin or Jonin -- no in-between. Naruto thought to himself.
"You seem confused still; what are you thinking?"
"Well, from what I studied, the reason people are Tokubetsu Jonin is because they only excel in a specific area. But, on my case, I'm the exact opposite of that, no?" Naruto explained his confusion in this.
"Ah, that. The reason for you becoming a Tokubetsu Jonin is for an entire different reason than that. You have the skills to become a full-fledged Jonin, but you just lack in areas like experience." Naruto nodded, getting what she was telling him.
Tsunade stood up from her chair, handing him a Jonin-flak jacket. Naruto took one-simple look at the flak jacket.
"No, it's fine. I'd rather not wear that." Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"How so?" Asked Tsunade, wondering the reason why he was declining the flak jacket that she was handing to him.
"Hm? Well, I just thought that I won't be staying a simple Jonin for long." Naruto let out a smirk, insinuating that he will be aiming for Anbu.
That was a lie, of course.
Naruto knew that soon enough, he was going to be regularly going on missions.
Not as a Tokubetsu Jonin.
But as a person who is affiliated to ROOT.
~~~