Chapter 104: Confrontation
Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 104: Confrontation
The two men who had just knocked on Naruto's door remained still, exchanging glances.
"It sounded like he jumped out of the window…" the one who looked like a human fish remarked.
"Mmm… that seems overly cautious. He must have recognized me," Itachi concluded. "I believe he was about to call me by my brother's name but stopped."
"So, what do we do now?"
Itachi broke the lock and pushed the door open.
"What kind of question is that? We go after him. Jiraiya won't be distracted forever."
"Hehe, I don't know about that. He's probably piss drunk by now. That girl seemed... talented," Kisame chuckled. Seeing the lack of amusement on his companion's face, he quickly composed himself.
"Fine, let's go." He leaped through the same window Naruto had just used.
Landing on the next rooftop, Kisame took a deep sniff of the air.
Itachi waited patiently beside him. He had complete trust in his partner's tracking abilities. Once Kisame caught a scent of chakra, no one could escape him.
"Urgh… Samehada doesn't like this boy's chakra. Says it's too hot," Kisame complained, feeling the shared senses of his sword.
"Which direction?" Itachi asked, hoping Kisame would focus.
"This way!" Kisame said, jumping off in pursuit.
Around the middle of the town, Naruto was jumping from one roof to the next. It was dark already but the small town looked a lot more busy now, compared to when they arrived.
He decided to leap down onto the ground level and try to blend in with the crowd.
"Tch! Where's the old pervert when I need him?" Naruto muttered, running through the narrow streets. He had no way to contact Jiraiya, but he knew he couldn't take on these two by himself.
He immediately recognized Itachi...the only other living Uchiha, and one of the most dangerous missing-nin from Konoha. As for the other man accompanying him, he was unmistakable also. Kisame Hoshigaki, an S-rank missing-nin from the Hidden Mist, and a member of the Seven Legendary Swordmen from the Mist.
'Why are two famous S-rank ninjas after me?' Naruto thought, mind racing. It wasn't a coincidence, that was for sure, and there were a few possibilities:
Maybe they were after Jiraiya and found him by accident.
Or... word about him being the son of the Fourth Hokage had spread, and there might be a bounty on his head. The Rock Village would definitely pay a good price for him.
The third possibility… they wanted a Jinchūriki. He was sure that many would be interested in capturing one. The Bijuus could considered very powerful weapons and any country would want to have them.
'If that's the case, they must've been spying on Konoha already and followed us as soon as we left. But how did they find me so quickly?'
Naruto wasn't used to dealing with these kinds of covert tactics.
While darting through a busy street, he sensed something moving at great speed directly at him, and sidestepped just in time.
A large, wrapped bundle crashed into the ground, shattering the stone tiles. The impact sent debris flying, injuring several bystanders.
People screamed as a towering figure landed beside the bundle and picked it up. Only then did Naruto realize the bundle was a weapon, wrapped in white bandages.
"There you are," the half-fish man smiled, his satisfaction was evident. This person seemed to enjoy the act of the hunt.
A group of townsmen, angry at the destruction, began to confront him.
And they will soon come to realize how terrible of an idea that was.
"You! What do you think you're doing?!" one of the men shouted at Kisame while brandishing a small knife.
Without even facing the man, Kisame swung his massive sword in response, sending all the townsfolk who dared to approach him flying away, and splattering their blood across the street.
"Ahhh!"
"Murderer!"
"Monster!"
The air filled with screams as the crowd scattered in all directions, panicking.
Itachi landed beside his partner, frowning.
"What are you doing? We were supposed to be discreet," he scolded.
Kisame had compromised the mission by causing chaos in the town center, rather than waiting for Naruto to be further away.
"Heh, relax, Itachi. I just need ten seconds to catch the boy. Watch me." Kisame grinned, showing Naruto his sharp, serrated teeth.
Naruto's heart raced. 'So they're after me... that rules out the first possibility.' He tried to stay calm.
Running no longer seemed like an option. The uproar would definitely attract attention. Even Jiraiya, no matter how drunk, wouldn't be able to ignore this.
"Let's negotiate," Naruto said. "You two are here to capture me, right? If you're mercenaries, I can double whatever you're being paid."
"We're not here to negotiate. Just come with us quietly, and you won't be hurt," Itachi replied coldly.
"And I doubt a nobody orphan brat like you could offer us much," Kisame added dismissively.
'So, they don't know who my parents are... they're after the Kyūbi.' Naruto realized. It didn't matter what why they wanted him. They weren't going to take him without a fight.
"I know who you are… Kisame Hoshigaki," Naruto said, pulling a kunai from his pouch.
Kisame paused, looking slightly surprised.
"I didn't know genins paid that much attention to the Bingo Book. Not bad, but if you know who I am, then you must know resistance is useless."
Naruto placed the kunai against his own neck.
"I know you need me alive. Don't get any closer, or I'll do it!"
"Whoa, hold on!" Kisame stopped and looked at Itachi for guidance.
The Uchiha's Sharingan spun as he narrowed his eyes at Naruto.
"He's lying. He has no intention of killing himself."
"What? But then..." Kisame turned back to Naruto, who was now smiling. He just needed a small gap to focus on the next move, and now he got it.
"Your ten seconds are up," Naruto said, slicing his palm with the kunai.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
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