Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Unforgiven ❯ Abduction ( Chapter 2 )

Unforgiven

By Kosume Shezaki

Edited by Kraven Ergeist and Gavv55

Disclaimer: Not Masashi Kishimoto, therefore I don't own Naruto

 

The sun shone beautifully in the sky, not a cloud to mar it. In the streets, the people waited eagerly as Naruto was wheeled to the execution square, tied to a pole on a cart. Wooden restraints created by Yamato had been placed upon him to suppress the fox's healing ability. It was mostly unnecessary, as Naruto hardly had any will to move. His face was blank, unmoving, almost dead. It seemed as though his spirit had already taken leave of him, his body the only thing remaining.

As the crowd grew larger and more restless as the time of execution neared, they took to pelting him with whatever they could get their hands on: rocks, dirt, fruit, trash. They cheered at the cuts and scrapes that were left behind, but no longer healed.

Naruto didn't even react to it.

The humiliation stopped by a sudden tremor shaking the ground, as cracks erupted in the earth that trailed a line to Tsunade, her fist embedded in the ground. Upon seeing the look on her face, nobody dared cast so much as an empty beer can.

`I may not be able to save him, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let him die without a little dignity!' she thought as she commanded the crowd to move back, as they prepared for the execution.

They had chosen the traditional method of execution for ninja: five ANBU would incinerate his body until only ashes remained.

The stand was posted in the center of the square and the members of the ANBU who had volunteered for the squad had taken their places surrounding the boy. Silently they waited for the hour of noon to arrive.

Naruto took one last look at the world around as the bell rang out, letting him know his death was soon to come. The ANBU around him removed their masks, their back to the crowd, but Naruto's eyes focused on one in particular. He felt the last bit of him that could have felt anything suddenly wither and die as he saw Kakashi's face, as he performed the seals for the technique. Naruto had thought that all his tears had dried up, but seeing his old sensei tacked onto the list of those people who hated him…

Not that he could blame him of course. Who didn't have the right to hate him at this point? He hated himself for what he'd done; it was hardly surprising for Kakashi to feel the same way. But still, the pain he felt at seeing one of his only true companions preparing to kill him…

Naruto's head fell back down in submission as the ANBU reared back and prepared to smother the boy in flame. He unconsciously winced as he felt the heat of the flames, but for some reason, they didn't burn at all.

Looking up, he saw that the fire was not that of the ANBU execution technique, but rather a gout of black flame erupting out of the center of the square.

The ANBU execution squad recoiled from the fire blast, landing haphazardly a fair distance away, trying to recover. Two were suddenly struck down as kunai were lodged in their throats.

There was a splash of water behind them, and one found himself face to face with the blade of Samehada, his face sheared off as Kisame swung in a wide arc before him.

Kakashi had managed to dodge the blow, but the other ANBU was caught in the stomach, his innards torn open as the blade finished its swing.

Kakashi leapt back, analyzing the situation.

`Why here? Why now?' he asked himself as he readied himself. All four ANBU were dead, he was the only one left. Citizens were fleeing in terror, some of them burning, some of them already dead. He had to be quick; Kisame was the only visible target.

Without hesitation, he drew his kunai, and took aim.

A flash of movement came from behind, and there was a sharp pain at the base of his spine. He turned to see Itachi's red eyes staring at his as he dug the kunai into Kakashi's back. Kakashi's world soon turned to black as Kisame slammed his head into the ground with all his might.

Kisame and Itachi approached Naruto, noting any restraints he had on him. From the looks of it, there was nothing too complex and it should only take a small amount of time to get him free.

A green blur suddenly streaked toward them. Kisame lifted his sword and blocked Gai's signature flying kick that was aimed for his head. Gai gaped in surprise as Kisame flung him away, the green-garbed Jounin landing perfectly several feet from them.

“I'll take care of our green friend Itachi-san, you take care of the target,” Kisame said as he walked toward Gai. Itachi eyed Kisame oddly, this being the first time he had ever acted without Itachi's instruction. He decided not to press the issue, leaving it be for the moment.

“It's funny how we always run into each other isn't it?” Kisame said as he strode toward Gai. “Each time, you always manage to escape by sheer luck, but this time there's nothing holding me back. You don't know how long I've waited to kill you.”

Gai stared at the shark-like man, his brow furrowed in concentration. “I've seen you somewhere before,” he muttered to himself. Seconds later his eyes widened as he realized. “Ah yes, I remember you now.”

Kisame looked amused.

“You're the man we fought in the desert!” Gai declared.

Kisame shook his head and sighed.

“You've been hit in the head a lot haven't you? Oh well, it doesn't matter whether you know me or not, you're going to die here all the same,” Kisame said as he prepared to attack.

Kisame dashed forward, Samehada quickly slashed in an upward arc. Gai quickly stepped to the side, the blade missing him by an inch, and spun around, aiming a kick to Kisame's head. The blow staggered Kisame for a moment, but he quickly steadied himself, quickly aiming his sword at Gai's legs.

Though Gai was able to keep his leg from being completely sheared off, the blade shaved off some flesh from the upper thigh, green fabric caught in the hardened scales of Samehada.

Even with the wound, Gai's demeanor never changed as though the wound meant nothing to him, keeping up his assault. Kisame continued with equal fervor, taking some of the taijutsu master's most powerful blows and shrugging them off. If anyone had the opportunity to behold the battle, it would have been a thing of beauty to them.

“You're a lot better than I thought you'd be, I'll give you that,” Kisame said with a grin. It had been so long since he had fought an opponent who posed any sort of challenge. This was a welcome change to the monotony of killing weaklings.

“You too are a worthy opponent. Despite your weathered appearance and age the fire burns as brightly in you as it does me,” Gai responded, breathing heavier than normal. While he had used the gates once on a facsimile of his current opponent, it had only been out of desperation and the need to save his students quickly. This time, it was a matter of life and death.

`I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult,' Kisame thought as Gai uttered the comparison. His eyes widened as Gai chakra surged, the first celestial gate forced open. A small shudder of fear ran through him as he remembered when Gai opened the sixth gate against his clone. The feeling of fear was short lived as Gai attacked almost immediately, Kisame barely managing to bring Samehada up in defense. The force of the blow sent Kisame skidding several feet back.

As he steadied himself, Gai went on the assault once more, forcing Kisame on the defensive. While he could follow Gai's movements, he couldn't see them well enough to get in a good attack.

`This is getting really annoying,' Kisame thought to himself as several of Gai's blows landed on his chest. He grudgingly admitted to himself that this guy was a lot better than he thought at first; he was unable to see his movement.

`But I don't need to see you,' Kisame thought as he took some of Gai's blood from the scales of his sword and brought it up to his nose. He inhaled the scent deeply, making sure he'd recognize it. Seconds later he ducked as Gai aimed a kick at his head, rising back up quickly and catching Gai just under the arm with his blade. He pulled Samehada back forcefully, the sound of the tearing flesh bringing a smile to his face.

Gai staggered back, feeling fatigued. `What did that sword do to me?' he wondered. The scales that made up the blade were quivering, as though something had brought them to life.

Gai had no time to figure this out as Kisame charged at him. He opened the second gate, his stamina and energy returned and quickly moved out of the way of Kisame's attack. He took advantage of the opening Kisame gave him and delivered a strong kick to the back of the missing nin's head.

Kisame reeled from the blow, his sight going blurry for a moment. The pain in the back of his head was immense but only served to enrage him. He swung at Gai, using the attack as a feint and when Gai dodged he immediately thrust the sword into Gai's abdomen.

He lifted the sword; Gai stuck on the front scales, into the air and slammed the tip down on the ground, before dragging it quickly around him and tossing Gai into a nearby wall. As Kisame moved to press the assault, another flash of green attacked him, but this was much slower than his current enemy. He parried him easily tossing him to the side. He laughed as he saw the little clone stare him down. The boy attacked him once more but Kisame slammed him to the ground and brought his sword up, ready to finish him off. As he brought the sword down, he was suddenly stopped.

Gai stood over Lee's body, his arms holding back Samehada. He had barely released the third gate when he dashed to protect his young protégé, and even with this surge he still felt the blade's drain on his chakra.

“Lee, run. He's much stronger than what he was in the desert,” Gai told him, a pleading tone in his voice.

Lee never knew Gai to hold him back before, so Lee knew the warning was serious. He quickly retreated, leaving Gai and Kisame to face each other once again.

Kisame chuckled as he saw the scene before him. “I take it you figured out there's a big difference between fighting something at less than a third of its power and the real thing? Samehada wants to thank you. He's not had a meal like you for some time. But I've had my fun; it's time to end this.”

With that, he knocked Gai back. His hands quickly went through several seals and he reared back before ejecting a massive amount of water from his gullet. Gai was caught up in the rush, barely able to keep his footing, and leapt out at the first sign the water was slowing.

Kisame had his eyes squarely on him, as though he had expected this and soon several cones of water were barreling toward Gai. He evaded the first one but was caught up in the second. As the others hit and combined with each other the attack grew stronger and stronger, carrying Gai at an incredible speed.

Kisame laughed as the attack carried Gai through several building before seeing the crash in the distance with water and debris going up in the air.

If Kisame had expected this to be all he was quite mistaken, as the panic from their initial ambush had dwindled leaving those ready to fight these invaders. Nins surrounded the two, ready to attack. While these nins were no real threat, Kisame was still feeling the effects of Gai's hits making fighting a little more difficult than necessary.

As a wave came toward him he summoned the water dispersed around the area to form three sharks. The creatures raced toward their target, ripping and shredding their enemies before collapsing into a pool of dark red water. Kisame fended the next few off with his sword but their numbers were troublesome.

“Hey Itachi, think you could hurry it up? This is getting a little more difficult than we expected!” he shouted to his partner.

Itachi looked back at him saying nothing as he undid the last restraint that attached their target to the pole. Faster than the eye could see, Itachi's hand flew through a sequence of seals and he blew out a long stream of flame, creating a wall to separate him and Kisame from the attackers. From the platform, he could make out the figure of the Godaime Hokage stalking toward them.

She would have to be dealt with if they were to make their escape.

~~~

Tsunade marched steadily toward the stage now enshrouded in flames, eyes burning with rage. She couldn't let them take him. Not for what they wanted. There were at least a few people here who cared about him, even if they couldn't save him. These two just wanted to take the demon out of the boy and leave him a lifeless husk God knows where.

She wanted to maim them, mutilate them, break them, crush them, and most of all she knew she could. It didn't matter whether it was the homicidal genius of the Uchiha or his malformed freak of a partner, once she got her hands on them, they would die. She would crush the life right out of them with her bare hands.

A glint of metal and swishing of a cloak were the only sounds to alert her of the attack. She easily ducked out of the way of the kunai catching a glimpse of Itachi's red eyes. Tsunade brought her fist down, the ground beneath it shattered from the force of her blow. Itachi appeared to the side of her, the quick test of their reflexes over. Now the fight truly began.

Itachi had no trouble seeing where Tsunade was going to attack or when. The chakra she used to augment her strength and the force behind each blow telegraphed her movements to the sharingan quite clearly. However her speed was greater than he had anticipated. Though her abilities had dulled with age, anger seemed to have reversed its effects, her attacks coming rapidly one after the other. Itachi knew fighting her hand to hand would be futile so he needed another mode of attack.

In between her attacks, he locked eyes with her, the sharingan beginning to draw her into an illusion. Her eyes dilated, her body slumped, and for a moment it seemed that Itachi had her right where he wanted her. Itachi closed in quickly, kunai drawn and ready to kill, but as soon he closed in on her he barely dodged the punch aimed right at his head.

`So genjutsu isn't fully effective. With her reputation as a medic nin, it shouldn't surprise me. Her chakra control would have to be exceptional,' Itachi thought as he evaded her. Distance seemed to be his greatest advantage over her. His hands moved quickly through the seals and he blew a wave of flame toward the Hokage.

Tsunade dodged to the side of the blast only to get hit by several shuriken Itachi had thrown. She ripped them out, sending them back at Itachi with such force they shattered as they hit the wall behind him. It was a game of cat and mouse, Itachi keeping the distance with fire and metal, while Tsunade closed in for the kill.

Itachi was impressed at her ability to keep up with him, no less than one expected from the Hokage, but the fight was shifting in his favor. Thanks to his eyes, his stamina was holding out much better than hers since he could avoid any wasteful movement while both age and fatigue began wearing her down. Her movements were slowing and her breathing was getting heavier. Itachi knew it was time to end this fight, so he drew a kunai and dashed toward her.

Tsunade watched Itachi as he drew his weapon and began his charge. She knew this was it, she couldn't dodge it. His speed was too quick. The only thing she could do was watch as the kunai pierced her flesh.

A smile spread over Tsunade's face as her hand gripped Itachi's, the kunai that ran though her hand tying them together. Itachi was a quick little bastard but if he couldn't move it didn't matter how fast he was. The wound in her hand was a small price to pay for getting him right where she wanted him.

Her fist crashed into the Uchiha's face, the crack of the impact resounding around them. As the Uchiha's head reeled from the hit she brought her arm back, slamming her elbow into the side of his head. As he staggered before her, she brought her leg up and it came crashing down on his head. As his face sped toward the ground with her, she couldn't help but notice:

The bastard was smiling.

~~~

Itachi looked up as the clone finally exploded. It had made for a more than effective distraction while they dealt with the few nins remaining near them. He secured Naruto for their escape, luckily the boy remained unresponsive. He looked over to Kisame as he ripped open the chest of one of the nins with his sword.

“We got what we came for. It's time to go,” he told his partner.

Kisame placed his sword on his back as Itachi hoisted Naruto onto his shoulder. They gave each other a quick look before they sped toward the border of the village.

~~~

Tsunade rose to her knees, the damage from the blast slowly being healed. Her leg had taken the most damage but she had managed to set the bones and stop most of the bleeding. Her eyes caught the shapes of Itachi and Kisame as they dashed out the village with Naruto in tow. She pulled herself to her feet and found Shizune rushing over to her.

“Tsunade-sama, are you alright?” Shizune asked frantically as she helped support her.

“I'm fine. What are the casualties?” Tsunade asker her as she looked around. Bodies were scattered everywhere and she knew their initial attack left a good number dead.

“At least 30 were killed and we haven't had time to get an estimate on the number of injured,” Shizune replied. Medic nins had started to gather up those who had survived the attack, rushing those they knew they could save off as fast as they could while trying to lessen the pain for those who would not make it.

“How many nins do we have who would be able to pursue them? We can't just let them leave.” The last time those two had breached the village's walls they left with barely a scratch. Tsunade wasn't about to let it be so easy again.

“It's hard to say. There's only a handful who weren't hurt in the attack, but by overlooking injuries that don't need to be treated right away we could have a good sized group.” Shizune didn't like the idea of sending more nins after those two after what they had done, but there was no other choice.

“Get at least 4 units together. If Inuzuka Tsume is able to go, make sure she's in the first group out. We need their tracking ability to make up for time those two have had to flee,” Tsunade told her as she started to walk toward the hospital to tend to the wounded.

“Is there anything specific I should tell them about this mission?” Shizune asked her.

Tsunade paused for a second, a heavy sigh coming from her before she answered Shizune.

“Uzumaki Naruto cannot be allowed to fall into Akatsuki's hands under any circumstances. If they are unable to secure him from Itachi and Kisame, he is to be exterminated.”

~~~

Itachi and Kisame sped through the forest, their path going in no particular direction. They stopped every so often as though waiting for someone but quickly took off in a few seconds.

“Where the hell is he? Zetsu was supposed to be waiting for us,” Kisame grumbled as they sped through the trees.

“You know he doesn't like to have an area picked out. He prefers to remain unseen if he can avoid it. He'll give us a sign when we're getting close,” Itachi replied. While Itachi understood Zetsu's wishes, the boy was beginning to stir. It would be much harder to take him in if he began to fight back.

Both stopped once more in a clearing nearby. There was no sign of Zetsu, but there was someone nearby. The sound of barking in the distance reached the pair.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take for them to send someone after us,” Kisame said as he turned to Itachi. “How quickly do you think they'll catch up?”

“The Inuzuka are known for their tracking and speed,” Itachi said. “If we don't move quickly they'll be on us quite soon.”

Both took to the trees once again, moving as fast as they could through the branches, making careful note of how loud the bog's barks were to see how close their enemies were.

“It's not like we can't deal with a few more of them today,” Kisame told Itachi as their enemies closed in.

“I doubt we're the target they're after, Kisame,” Itachi replied. “They want the boy out of our hands, no matter the cost. They'll kill him if they have to.”

Itachi wasn't sure how much longer they could avoid the group that was after them. The fighting had taken a toll on the two.

“Over here,” a voice whispered to them. There was no one in sight, but both knew who it was. They went in the direction of the voice and found a small clearing. They jumped down to the ground and a second later they were gone, a fine powder spreading through the area.

~~~

Tsume and her unit were right on the trail of the two missing nins and their captive. Kuromaru, Tsume's canine companion, was at the front of the group picking up the faintest hint of their targets. As the scent grew stronger and fresher he picked up speed. He knew they were closing in on them and was ready to attack. The scent trail led him toward a clearing, still no sign of the two, but they had to be close, it was like they had just been there. As he leapt into the clearing an odd scent hit his nose before a burning like nothing he'd felt before hit him. He yelped and barked, squirming on the ground as the sensation grew stronger.

“Kuromaru!” Tsume yelled out as she saw what was happening to her friend. She pulled him away from the clearing. She looked him over to find what was wrong, if he had been hit with a poisoned weapon or sprung a trap. The only thing she noticed was an odd powder covering part of his fur. Tsume walked toward where Kuromaru had been lying. She saw the powder lying all over the grass.

“One of you get a sample of whatever that powder is, I'm going to see if I can pick up their trail again,” Tsume ordered them before she searched for anything catch their scent. She circled the area around them, looking for any trace of their scent, but there was nothing. The trail ended at the clearing as though they had simply vanished.

~~~

Itachi, Kisame, and Naruto were sucked through the earth as Zetsu brought them into an underground cavern. Zetsu walked up to the trip looking over them slowly his gaze lingering on Naruto.

“So you all finally got your target,” Zetsu cackled in a raspy voice. “You certainly took your time with this one, everyone else already got theirs. I expected more from ones held as highly as yourselves.”

“Watch your tongue, you mouthy houseplant,” Kisame threatened as he drew his sword. Their trouble in finding a way to get a hold of the kid has become a running joke to the others and he was sick of it.

“Kisame, control yourself,” Itachi warned.

“Please excuse his behavior; he's not quite as understanding as I am” Zetsu apologized, his other half speaking. “Unlike the others, this jinchuuriki has never been easy to capture, people were much more willing to defend him than the others. Seems that opinion has shifted since then.”

Kisame's mouth twitched but he managed to silence himself. He never liked Zetsu much, his split personalities made him uneasy. Itachi was at least a consistent psychopath.

“Well, I'll be taking our friend to the extraction area. It would be best to get this done as quickly as possible,” Zetsu said as he grabbed hold of Naruto. “Oh, before I forget, I know our leader had asked to speak with the both of you. Unfortunately he will be unable to, but he gave her all the necessary information. It would be best not to keep her waiting too long.” With that Zetsu and Naruto melted into the wall of the cave.

“Well isn't that great,” Kisame muttered at the news.

“He wouldn't have her speak with us on the matter if she wasn't qualified to. He's trusted her with a lot more than any of us,” Itachi told Kisame, knowing full well of his partner's unease around their only female member.

“I don't doubt her abilities, it's just that her little blood fetish is pretty disturbing,” he muttered back.

Dropping the issue, Kisame looked around them for any sign of an exit, but the cavern lead as far as either could see.

“Um…how do we get out of here?”

~~~

“So there was no sign of where they might have gone?” Tsunade asked the units that had just returned. `There isn't any way today could get worse,' she thought.

“There was no sign of them,” Tsume answered. “I tried to catch their scent again, but I couldn't. They might have masked it with whatever that powder was.” That powder was obviously meant to cover something, given what it had done to her dog.

“We'll be sure to find out exactly what it is. Thank you all for taking the risk on this mission,” she told them as she waved them out of her office.

In all her life, Tsunade had never felt like such a failure as she did now. First she had been unable to fid a way to spare his life and now she had failed to rescue him from an even worse fate at the hands of Akatsuki. As tears threatened to spill out, Shizune's voice asking to enter snapped her out of it.

“What is it?” Tsunade growled, sounding angrier than she meant to.

Shizune entered Tsunade's office somewhat hesitantly, not wanting to impart anymore bad news to her.

“I wanted to tell you the Hyuuga clan has called an assembly of all its members,” She told her.

Tsunade took a moment to take Shizune's words in. While it was not unusual for clans to gather their members in times of war or personal conflict, given the timing she knew exactly what the reason for it was.

“What do you think her stance will be?” Shizune asked her mentor.

“A few years ago, I could tell you, but now I'm not so sure,” She replied weakly.

~~~

Naruto's mind had finally pieced itself back together, recovering the best it could from the recent turn of events. A dull humming of voices was echoing all around him. As consciousness fully returned to him, he summoned all the energy he could to push himself up to see where he was. He opened his eyes to a dark cave, nine shadows standing around him. As he got to his knees the voices stopped and each figure locked their gaze on him.

`Am I in hell?” Naruto thought to himself as a feeling of dread settled inside him.

The silence hung in the air for a moment until one of them finally spoke.

“We've been waiting a long time for you Naruto. You don't know how glad I am to finally have you here with us.”

 

End of Chapter One.

AN: I hope that you enjoyed the official first chapter of Unforgiven. I apologize for the time it took to finish, but school comes first, writing second. This story was already firmly in the What if/AU category when it started and all the more so with the current path of the manga. There will be one more chapter before the main thrust of the story begins, something of an aftermath chapter that will foreshadow events that will come to pass later in this book or the next, and more importantly flesh out the secondary characters that will be important to this story. In the discussions with my friends, side characters have come to be quite important and I don't want to just toss anyone into the story. Please review and let me know what you think about this story.