MadaraNamikaze
Member
Okay, this chapter is reaaally long and i used time skips because it would be too boring to explain EVERYTHING! Hope you enjoy
really hope you guys liked it
Naruto: The Lost Heir
Chpt. 3
An hour later, Manzo had everything he needed and headed for the village’s North Gate, anxious for his new mission. His father’s words kept echoing in his head, “Don’t overexert yourself”. Manzo started to wonder why Tobirama said this. The last time Manzo went on a mission as important as this one, was to the Land of Earth to help stop an assassination attempt on the Tsuchikage. Manzo hardly remembered anything about that night. The only thing he could manage to picture was himself watching dozens of people being evacuated from the, screaming in pain and terror. Chills shot down Manzo spine as he remembered the faces of the crying parents and children. “I wish I could have done something, instead of just standing there helplessly. It won’t happen this time.” The North Gate was in sight, and Manzo sped forward.
Underneath the gate stood Orochimaru, his pale skin gleaming in the mid-afternoon sun, Jiraiya leaned against a pole focused on the small booklet he was writing in. Tsunade her, blonde hair shown like a thousand golden bars, and seemed as fine as silk. The three shinobi together look like something Manzo has ever seen before. Though not in the heat of battle, but the three gave off a deadly aura. An aura so strong it made Manzo feel so insignificant, so small to the world, it felt as though he was suffocating in a sea of dread, loneliness, and misery. ,. Why… why do I feel like this? Everything, it feels like everything is fading away…” thought Manzo.
“Manzo, get a hold of yourself!” a voice called out and something soft and gentle rested on Manzo’s shoulder. It was Roka. The world seem to level out once again and Manzo finally came to his senses, somewhat. Still a little dazed, Roka leaned in closed to Manzo’s ear and said, “You have to be very careful around these three. They may not look the part, but they are extremely dangerous. They’re three of the Leaf’s strongest shinobi. If you’re not careful their chakra will overpower you. The same happened to me, until Tsunade snapped me out of it.” Roka looked back and gave a wary look at the three shinobi standing under the gate.
“But how can anyone’s chakra feel so dark. They don’t look like they’d have such demoralizing chakra,” said Manzo. “Jiraiya and Tsunade, back in the Hokage’s office they gave off such a warm chakra, so what happened?” Manzo straightened up and regained his control, though still debating weather he wanted to go any nearer toward the three.
“I told they don’t look the part, but even the nicest looking person has either a dark side or dark past,” answered Roka. “And back in the Hokage’s office you’re right and wrong about them. You’re not as skilled at sensing charka as I am, so I’m not surprised you didn’t notice it.” This made Manzo even less motivated to apologize to Roka, but he kept listening. “Only Jiraiya, Tsunade and Lord Tobirama gave off the warm chakra you were feeling. As for Orochimaru, I’m having mixed feelings about him, his chakra was cold and malevolent. That’s why I was stand next to him to get a better reading on him. As for what happened right now was your ability to read other’s life force. You felt what was really in their heart deep down in their souls.”
Manzo’s eyes widen. He looked at the Jiraiya and the other two, who were now sifting through their backpack making sure everything was accounted for. Manzo then realized that those three have lived tough lives. “Are you two done talking, if so can we please get a move on. I’m getting tired of just t standing around doing nothing,” blurted Orochimaru. He looked up at Roka and Manzo with his reptilian eyes. Roka’s grip on Manzo’s shoulder tightened. Orochimaru stood up, dusted off his knees, but before he could walk over to the two shinobi, Jiraiya had rushed over and put his hand on Orochimaru’s should and shook his head.
“Orochimaru, they’re just kids. The Hokage is sending them with us for a reason, don’t worry they won’t get in our way,” reassured Jiraiya. He then looked over to Roka and Manzo. “I’ve spoken with the ANBU captain, the Hidden Cloud’s forces should be arriving within the next two days. We have to hurry to the Hidden Rain before we run into any interference. Security around the village has already been heightened. We’re lucky we’re able to leave without any problems.”
“Well then everyone shut up and let’s go,” demanded Tsunade. “If we leave now we’ll be able to make it to the Rain by the time the Cloud ninja make it here.” She threw her backpack over her shoulder and started down the road away form them. Jiraiya sighed walked over to his backpack and followed Tsunade trough the gate. Orochimaru turned his gaze back on Roka and Manzo, then turned and followed his comrades.
“Let’s go Manzo,” repeated Roka. He walked over to his bag threw it on and followed the three shinobi, being careful to keep a steady eight foot pace behind Orochimaru. Manzo took a few more second, and then followed.
They continued to walk for hours; no one said anything ever since leaving the village gate. Manzo was careful to take in all of his surroundings. The air was fresh and crisp. The air temperature seemed to have dropped at least nine degrees. Lush green leaves hovered weightlessly in the trees. The branches swayed rhythmically to its dancing neighbors. The sun had now reached the very tip of the mountain, slowly sinking behind the colossal abyss. The sun had cast a warm orange and red glow upon the world. Clouds drifted in the breeze, stained a deep yellow orange by the retreating sun. Leaves, butterflies, flower petal of all kind were swept from the sharp bladed grass, wrestling in mid air. Behind them the moon could be seen rising past the tips of the vast, endless forest. On many occasions Manzo had caught himself straying off the beaten dirt road, marveling at nature’s pure, raw beauty. Both Roka and Manzo were careful to stay a few feet behind the elder shinobi in front them. This, to Manzo, was the perfect opportunity for Manzo to finally apologize to Roka. “Er…Roka,” Manzo started.
“Save it Manzo,” interrupted Roka. “I know you’re sorry for what you said back there in the clearing. It’s okay.” Roka gave a small laugh, and smiled at Manzo. “We all say things we don’t mean, that’s why before I walked away, I smiled back at you. Because I know you really didn’t mean it.” The light from the sinking sun transmitted a warm earthly glow on Roka’s face. This took Manzo completely off guard. In all his years of knowing Roka, he’s never seen him so… so happy.
“If, you’re not upset that I said such a thing, then why did you look so hurt when I said it?”
“Because, saying that I’m ‘nothing but and outsider’ made me realize one thing.” Roka focused his emerald gaze toward the sky, and his smile widened. “You made me realize, that I’m not meant to be here, that I don’t really; actually belong here. That the world needs me elsewhere. I’m destined for something big, something epic.” Manzo was absolutely dumbfounded.
“You realized all this from a few words…a few angry ill-thought words?”
“Sometimes Manzo, words that one says, can be interpreted into something completely different,” answered Roka. “So yes. Those few words you said to me, meant a great deal. And I thank you for it.” Manzo was speechless, he never thought that he’d be hearing such kind words escape Roka’s minimalist demeanor.
“We’ll set up camp here,” called out Jiraiya. Lost in Roka’s words, Manzo failed to notice that the sun had already dipped below the mountains and casted the world into a seemingly never-ending darkness. The wind had also stopped and the air was still and the world was silent. Jiraiya and the other three made their way off the road and into a small clearing not too far into the motionless forest. Following them into the forest, Roka and Manzo quickly unpacked food they had brought from their homes and began to start a fire. “Get as much sleep as you can. Tomorrow we’ll be in enemy territory so you’ll need to be alert.”
With the fire up and blazing, the five man cell ate their dinner in silence. Soon they all retired to their nap sacks they had heaved out of their bags.
* * *
It was mid-afternoon and the group had made a significant amount of ground. The sky had already darkened and thunder could be heard in the distance. The forest had ended a few miles behind them and Manzo felt even more uneasy. Darkness was slowly creeping over them. About fifty yards ahead of them lay a lake, dark, enigmatic, and unforgiving. Once they reached the edge of the lake Orochimaru raised his left hand and the group paused. “This in the entrance to the Hidden Rain Village,” he announced. “About sixty feet below the surface there’s an entrance that leads right to the outskirts of the southern section. Hanzo initially made this passage as an escape route or a secret tunnel for sneak attacks.”
“We came across the tunnel only by luck,” put in Tsunade. “We were scouting the area for any signs of a freak ambush before any of the serious fight broke out. We caught a few Rain genin dive into it, and we decided to investigate.”
“But we still gotta check for trap they may have left behind,” stated Jiraiya. He walked up to the edge of the water, knelt down on one knee and clasped his hands together. “I, Inu, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji, Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!” and from a bursting cloud of smoke next to Jiraiya, appeared a small orange toad, covered in blue marking, more like tattoos across it’s entire body. It was also no bigger than a puppy, which greatly amused Manzo. “Alright Gama you know what to.” The toad gave out a long, low ‘rrrrrrrruuuuup’ and jumped into the lake.
“Um, Jiraiya,” said Manzo unsurely. “Exactly what can a frog do to help search for traps?”
Jiraiya looked up and gave a small chuckle. “Gama’s not a frog, he’s a toad.” Laughed Jiraiya. Manzo stood in silence staring at Jiraiya’s goofy smile. He felt as though he just got punked or something.
“What the hell’s the difference!” thought Manzo.
“You see frogs are more agile than toads are. Their skin is also a lot smoother than a toad. As for toads, they’re not able to run from predators easily like the frog is able to, so they simply release poison from their bodies.” Jiraiya explain, still smiling. Manzo desperately wanted to knock that grin off his face. Roka made him feel dumb enough, and he didn’t need someone he barely knew to do it to. “And because of that, I believe toads are one of the most dangerous animals.” His smile faded, as Gama flew out of the lake, and landed about a foot from Roka.
“Everything’s a-okay boss!” the toad blurted out.
“WH-WHAT THE HELL!” Manzo shrieked. “How can that thing talk…WHY can it talk?!” Manzo looked over to Roka who seemed equally creeped out, despite the calm look he was trying to force on himself. Tsunade and Orochimaru couldn’t help but chuckle a little themselves.
“You two are Jonin, and you haven’t seen or heard a talking summoning?” questioned Jiraiya. Both Roka and Manzo shook their heads. “Well then….that’s just sad.”
Regaining his composure, Manzo blurted out, “Can we please get on with the mission!” Laughing at his embarrassment Jiraiya turned back around to the edge of the lake. Then his face hardened into a deep frown.
“We need to hurry, There’re a few shinobi about to cross through the passage way.”
“Let me handle it,” Roka said, stepping forward and dropping his backpack, he took a deep breath and dove into the murky lake.
Several minutes passed before Roka surfaced again, followed by a small cloud of blood. “Everything’s fine, I made sure the fight wasn’t noticeable on the surface.” Satisfied one by one the remaining four dove into the water.
* * *
The rain was heavy; the sky was a depressing gray. Thunder was roaring overhead. The five emerged from the grim lake. In front, weren’t homes made of wood or cement, but of steel. Skyscraper made of metal hundreds of feet high. Looking up, it seemed as if the buildings pierced the fierce sky and it cried out in roars of rolling thunder. To their left just about seventy or eighty yards from there location, shops shown brightly through the rain and light haze. Villagers with cloaks and straw umbrellas walked about, oblivious to the fact that their soon to be war torn village has been infiltrated. About forty yards to their right merchants shouting out prices and new deals on dumplings and makeshift Rain headbands.
The group made their way to the furthest edge of the flooded lake. Being careful not be seen or heard, even of the pounding rain and deafening thunder, they made their way over the concrete siding. Rushing over to the nearest building, they crouched low and close, prepared for the strangest movement or the most unexpected order. “You two go to the prison, find the villagers and find your way out of the village,” ordered Jiraiya. “We’ll weed out Hanzo and keep him preoccupied. He’ll know we used that secret passage. He knows we’re not naïve enough to come right through the front door.”
“How’re we going to do that, yeah sure finding the prison shouldn’t be all that difficult,” pestered Manzo. “But finding another exit with an entire is near impossible.” He looked over at Roka who seemed to be thinking the same thing. Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at each other trying to think of another solution, As Jiraiya kept his gaze on their surroundings.
“The Rain has four main entrances, the North, South, East, and West gates. All of which are heavily guarded, due to the upcoming war,” began Tsunade. “If Hanzo’s going to have reinforcements here after we make our move, then the only other options might be to escape into the mountains in the northeast, or to create their own exit.”
“No that’s far too dangerous,” said Orochimaru. “Even with Hanzo distracted by us, he’d drop everything to find out who’s blasting away somewhere else in the village. He might even think the war has already started and send all his forces out to battle. No, you either escape into the mountains or find another alternative.” Tsunade and Orochimaru nodded to each other in agreement then shuffled over to Jiraiya’s side their faces cold and concentrated.
“You two go now!” Jiraiya hissed. Roka stirred uneasily. And Manzo started to figure out why. A tremendous chakra was making its way toward their location. The chakra was dark and wild, creeping and snaking its way through alleyways. And somewhere inside the tidal wave of chakra, a malicious, spiteful being could be sensed. The rain had stopped, the thunder ceased, and the air was cold and still. Roka’s eyes widened and Jiraiya and his comrades grew evermore tense. Manzo felt this before, in the Leaf, when he arrived at the gates to meet his team-mates. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade gave off the same feeling. But this chakra this aura, was even more sinister.
Then: “Well then what do we have here, vermin hiding beneath my boisterous storms,” bellowed an unknown voice.
“What…who is that?” asked Roka. “The chakra signature is coming, half a mile northwest from here. But who could have such powerful chakra, this is insane!”
“Damn, I-it’s Hanzo,” answered Jiraiya. “How in the hell did he find us? You two run, NOW!” Seeing the surprise and horror in Jiraiya’s eyes they didn’t stay to argue. Within sec end of the seconds Roka and Manzo dashed toward the opposite end of the alleyway and rounded the corner, rushing away to fulfill their part of the mission.
* * *
Bounding for the southern half of the village Roka and Manzo passed many bewildered villagers, staring at the bleak sky wondering where the booming voice was coming from. Roka suddenly skidded to a halt, and dove into near by store. Following him, Manzo notice a few more chakras flare up in the distance. He guessed Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade must have met who ever contacted them. Staggering from the surrounding chakras clashing in the air Manzo kept his head low and his pace quick through the store. Manzo noticed the store was no bigger than the lake the group first dove into. It was unusually bright, lanterns hung from the ceiling casting an inviting glow upon the rows of jackets and cloaks. From the far corner, Roka beckoned Manzo over. Ducking behind a rack of thick gray jackets, Roka shoved a cotton sewn cloak in Manzo’s face. “Put this on.” He ordered. Throwing the cloak on and taking a couple of straw hats, the two dashed out of the store, despite the storeowners’ protests and threats.
Heading up hill it only took a half an hour to reach the rusted gate of the Hidden Rain High Security Prison. Behind them the sounds of small explosions could be heard. It seemed as if the battle had moved outside of the village. Focusing more and more, Manzo could make that the Western Gate had been destroyed. He also thought he could make out the clang of steel on steel, but he brushed aside that thought thinking it was probably the rain hitting the metal gates.
Roka stood staring at the gates, as if a barrier prevented him from entering. “Roka. Let’s go!” Jumping over the gate Manzo tore toward the prison eager to free his friends.
END
Chpt. 3
An hour later, Manzo had everything he needed and headed for the village’s North Gate, anxious for his new mission. His father’s words kept echoing in his head, “Don’t overexert yourself”. Manzo started to wonder why Tobirama said this. The last time Manzo went on a mission as important as this one, was to the Land of Earth to help stop an assassination attempt on the Tsuchikage. Manzo hardly remembered anything about that night. The only thing he could manage to picture was himself watching dozens of people being evacuated from the, screaming in pain and terror. Chills shot down Manzo spine as he remembered the faces of the crying parents and children. “I wish I could have done something, instead of just standing there helplessly. It won’t happen this time.” The North Gate was in sight, and Manzo sped forward.
Underneath the gate stood Orochimaru, his pale skin gleaming in the mid-afternoon sun, Jiraiya leaned against a pole focused on the small booklet he was writing in. Tsunade her, blonde hair shown like a thousand golden bars, and seemed as fine as silk. The three shinobi together look like something Manzo has ever seen before. Though not in the heat of battle, but the three gave off a deadly aura. An aura so strong it made Manzo feel so insignificant, so small to the world, it felt as though he was suffocating in a sea of dread, loneliness, and misery. ,. Why… why do I feel like this? Everything, it feels like everything is fading away…” thought Manzo.
“Manzo, get a hold of yourself!” a voice called out and something soft and gentle rested on Manzo’s shoulder. It was Roka. The world seem to level out once again and Manzo finally came to his senses, somewhat. Still a little dazed, Roka leaned in closed to Manzo’s ear and said, “You have to be very careful around these three. They may not look the part, but they are extremely dangerous. They’re three of the Leaf’s strongest shinobi. If you’re not careful their chakra will overpower you. The same happened to me, until Tsunade snapped me out of it.” Roka looked back and gave a wary look at the three shinobi standing under the gate.
“But how can anyone’s chakra feel so dark. They don’t look like they’d have such demoralizing chakra,” said Manzo. “Jiraiya and Tsunade, back in the Hokage’s office they gave off such a warm chakra, so what happened?” Manzo straightened up and regained his control, though still debating weather he wanted to go any nearer toward the three.
“I told they don’t look the part, but even the nicest looking person has either a dark side or dark past,” answered Roka. “And back in the Hokage’s office you’re right and wrong about them. You’re not as skilled at sensing charka as I am, so I’m not surprised you didn’t notice it.” This made Manzo even less motivated to apologize to Roka, but he kept listening. “Only Jiraiya, Tsunade and Lord Tobirama gave off the warm chakra you were feeling. As for Orochimaru, I’m having mixed feelings about him, his chakra was cold and malevolent. That’s why I was stand next to him to get a better reading on him. As for what happened right now was your ability to read other’s life force. You felt what was really in their heart deep down in their souls.”
Manzo’s eyes widen. He looked at the Jiraiya and the other two, who were now sifting through their backpack making sure everything was accounted for. Manzo then realized that those three have lived tough lives. “Are you two done talking, if so can we please get a move on. I’m getting tired of just t standing around doing nothing,” blurted Orochimaru. He looked up at Roka and Manzo with his reptilian eyes. Roka’s grip on Manzo’s shoulder tightened. Orochimaru stood up, dusted off his knees, but before he could walk over to the two shinobi, Jiraiya had rushed over and put his hand on Orochimaru’s should and shook his head.
“Orochimaru, they’re just kids. The Hokage is sending them with us for a reason, don’t worry they won’t get in our way,” reassured Jiraiya. He then looked over to Roka and Manzo. “I’ve spoken with the ANBU captain, the Hidden Cloud’s forces should be arriving within the next two days. We have to hurry to the Hidden Rain before we run into any interference. Security around the village has already been heightened. We’re lucky we’re able to leave without any problems.”
“Well then everyone shut up and let’s go,” demanded Tsunade. “If we leave now we’ll be able to make it to the Rain by the time the Cloud ninja make it here.” She threw her backpack over her shoulder and started down the road away form them. Jiraiya sighed walked over to his backpack and followed Tsunade trough the gate. Orochimaru turned his gaze back on Roka and Manzo, then turned and followed his comrades.
“Let’s go Manzo,” repeated Roka. He walked over to his bag threw it on and followed the three shinobi, being careful to keep a steady eight foot pace behind Orochimaru. Manzo took a few more second, and then followed.
They continued to walk for hours; no one said anything ever since leaving the village gate. Manzo was careful to take in all of his surroundings. The air was fresh and crisp. The air temperature seemed to have dropped at least nine degrees. Lush green leaves hovered weightlessly in the trees. The branches swayed rhythmically to its dancing neighbors. The sun had now reached the very tip of the mountain, slowly sinking behind the colossal abyss. The sun had cast a warm orange and red glow upon the world. Clouds drifted in the breeze, stained a deep yellow orange by the retreating sun. Leaves, butterflies, flower petal of all kind were swept from the sharp bladed grass, wrestling in mid air. Behind them the moon could be seen rising past the tips of the vast, endless forest. On many occasions Manzo had caught himself straying off the beaten dirt road, marveling at nature’s pure, raw beauty. Both Roka and Manzo were careful to stay a few feet behind the elder shinobi in front them. This, to Manzo, was the perfect opportunity for Manzo to finally apologize to Roka. “Er…Roka,” Manzo started.
“Save it Manzo,” interrupted Roka. “I know you’re sorry for what you said back there in the clearing. It’s okay.” Roka gave a small laugh, and smiled at Manzo. “We all say things we don’t mean, that’s why before I walked away, I smiled back at you. Because I know you really didn’t mean it.” The light from the sinking sun transmitted a warm earthly glow on Roka’s face. This took Manzo completely off guard. In all his years of knowing Roka, he’s never seen him so… so happy.
“If, you’re not upset that I said such a thing, then why did you look so hurt when I said it?”
“Because, saying that I’m ‘nothing but and outsider’ made me realize one thing.” Roka focused his emerald gaze toward the sky, and his smile widened. “You made me realize, that I’m not meant to be here, that I don’t really; actually belong here. That the world needs me elsewhere. I’m destined for something big, something epic.” Manzo was absolutely dumbfounded.
“You realized all this from a few words…a few angry ill-thought words?”
“Sometimes Manzo, words that one says, can be interpreted into something completely different,” answered Roka. “So yes. Those few words you said to me, meant a great deal. And I thank you for it.” Manzo was speechless, he never thought that he’d be hearing such kind words escape Roka’s minimalist demeanor.
“We’ll set up camp here,” called out Jiraiya. Lost in Roka’s words, Manzo failed to notice that the sun had already dipped below the mountains and casted the world into a seemingly never-ending darkness. The wind had also stopped and the air was still and the world was silent. Jiraiya and the other three made their way off the road and into a small clearing not too far into the motionless forest. Following them into the forest, Roka and Manzo quickly unpacked food they had brought from their homes and began to start a fire. “Get as much sleep as you can. Tomorrow we’ll be in enemy territory so you’ll need to be alert.”
With the fire up and blazing, the five man cell ate their dinner in silence. Soon they all retired to their nap sacks they had heaved out of their bags.
* * *
It was mid-afternoon and the group had made a significant amount of ground. The sky had already darkened and thunder could be heard in the distance. The forest had ended a few miles behind them and Manzo felt even more uneasy. Darkness was slowly creeping over them. About fifty yards ahead of them lay a lake, dark, enigmatic, and unforgiving. Once they reached the edge of the lake Orochimaru raised his left hand and the group paused. “This in the entrance to the Hidden Rain Village,” he announced. “About sixty feet below the surface there’s an entrance that leads right to the outskirts of the southern section. Hanzo initially made this passage as an escape route or a secret tunnel for sneak attacks.”
“We came across the tunnel only by luck,” put in Tsunade. “We were scouting the area for any signs of a freak ambush before any of the serious fight broke out. We caught a few Rain genin dive into it, and we decided to investigate.”
“But we still gotta check for trap they may have left behind,” stated Jiraiya. He walked up to the edge of the water, knelt down on one knee and clasped his hands together. “I, Inu, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji, Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!” and from a bursting cloud of smoke next to Jiraiya, appeared a small orange toad, covered in blue marking, more like tattoos across it’s entire body. It was also no bigger than a puppy, which greatly amused Manzo. “Alright Gama you know what to.” The toad gave out a long, low ‘rrrrrrrruuuuup’ and jumped into the lake.
“Um, Jiraiya,” said Manzo unsurely. “Exactly what can a frog do to help search for traps?”
Jiraiya looked up and gave a small chuckle. “Gama’s not a frog, he’s a toad.” Laughed Jiraiya. Manzo stood in silence staring at Jiraiya’s goofy smile. He felt as though he just got punked or something.
“What the hell’s the difference!” thought Manzo.
“You see frogs are more agile than toads are. Their skin is also a lot smoother than a toad. As for toads, they’re not able to run from predators easily like the frog is able to, so they simply release poison from their bodies.” Jiraiya explain, still smiling. Manzo desperately wanted to knock that grin off his face. Roka made him feel dumb enough, and he didn’t need someone he barely knew to do it to. “And because of that, I believe toads are one of the most dangerous animals.” His smile faded, as Gama flew out of the lake, and landed about a foot from Roka.
“Everything’s a-okay boss!” the toad blurted out.
“WH-WHAT THE HELL!” Manzo shrieked. “How can that thing talk…WHY can it talk?!” Manzo looked over to Roka who seemed equally creeped out, despite the calm look he was trying to force on himself. Tsunade and Orochimaru couldn’t help but chuckle a little themselves.
“You two are Jonin, and you haven’t seen or heard a talking summoning?” questioned Jiraiya. Both Roka and Manzo shook their heads. “Well then….that’s just sad.”
Regaining his composure, Manzo blurted out, “Can we please get on with the mission!” Laughing at his embarrassment Jiraiya turned back around to the edge of the lake. Then his face hardened into a deep frown.
“We need to hurry, There’re a few shinobi about to cross through the passage way.”
“Let me handle it,” Roka said, stepping forward and dropping his backpack, he took a deep breath and dove into the murky lake.
Several minutes passed before Roka surfaced again, followed by a small cloud of blood. “Everything’s fine, I made sure the fight wasn’t noticeable on the surface.” Satisfied one by one the remaining four dove into the water.
* * *
The rain was heavy; the sky was a depressing gray. Thunder was roaring overhead. The five emerged from the grim lake. In front, weren’t homes made of wood or cement, but of steel. Skyscraper made of metal hundreds of feet high. Looking up, it seemed as if the buildings pierced the fierce sky and it cried out in roars of rolling thunder. To their left just about seventy or eighty yards from there location, shops shown brightly through the rain and light haze. Villagers with cloaks and straw umbrellas walked about, oblivious to the fact that their soon to be war torn village has been infiltrated. About forty yards to their right merchants shouting out prices and new deals on dumplings and makeshift Rain headbands.
The group made their way to the furthest edge of the flooded lake. Being careful not be seen or heard, even of the pounding rain and deafening thunder, they made their way over the concrete siding. Rushing over to the nearest building, they crouched low and close, prepared for the strangest movement or the most unexpected order. “You two go to the prison, find the villagers and find your way out of the village,” ordered Jiraiya. “We’ll weed out Hanzo and keep him preoccupied. He’ll know we used that secret passage. He knows we’re not naïve enough to come right through the front door.”
“How’re we going to do that, yeah sure finding the prison shouldn’t be all that difficult,” pestered Manzo. “But finding another exit with an entire is near impossible.” He looked over at Roka who seemed to be thinking the same thing. Orochimaru and Tsunade looked at each other trying to think of another solution, As Jiraiya kept his gaze on their surroundings.
“The Rain has four main entrances, the North, South, East, and West gates. All of which are heavily guarded, due to the upcoming war,” began Tsunade. “If Hanzo’s going to have reinforcements here after we make our move, then the only other options might be to escape into the mountains in the northeast, or to create their own exit.”
“No that’s far too dangerous,” said Orochimaru. “Even with Hanzo distracted by us, he’d drop everything to find out who’s blasting away somewhere else in the village. He might even think the war has already started and send all his forces out to battle. No, you either escape into the mountains or find another alternative.” Tsunade and Orochimaru nodded to each other in agreement then shuffled over to Jiraiya’s side their faces cold and concentrated.
“You two go now!” Jiraiya hissed. Roka stirred uneasily. And Manzo started to figure out why. A tremendous chakra was making its way toward their location. The chakra was dark and wild, creeping and snaking its way through alleyways. And somewhere inside the tidal wave of chakra, a malicious, spiteful being could be sensed. The rain had stopped, the thunder ceased, and the air was cold and still. Roka’s eyes widened and Jiraiya and his comrades grew evermore tense. Manzo felt this before, in the Leaf, when he arrived at the gates to meet his team-mates. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade gave off the same feeling. But this chakra this aura, was even more sinister.
Then: “Well then what do we have here, vermin hiding beneath my boisterous storms,” bellowed an unknown voice.
“What…who is that?” asked Roka. “The chakra signature is coming, half a mile northwest from here. But who could have such powerful chakra, this is insane!”
“Damn, I-it’s Hanzo,” answered Jiraiya. “How in the hell did he find us? You two run, NOW!” Seeing the surprise and horror in Jiraiya’s eyes they didn’t stay to argue. Within sec end of the seconds Roka and Manzo dashed toward the opposite end of the alleyway and rounded the corner, rushing away to fulfill their part of the mission.
* * *
Bounding for the southern half of the village Roka and Manzo passed many bewildered villagers, staring at the bleak sky wondering where the booming voice was coming from. Roka suddenly skidded to a halt, and dove into near by store. Following him, Manzo notice a few more chakras flare up in the distance. He guessed Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade must have met who ever contacted them. Staggering from the surrounding chakras clashing in the air Manzo kept his head low and his pace quick through the store. Manzo noticed the store was no bigger than the lake the group first dove into. It was unusually bright, lanterns hung from the ceiling casting an inviting glow upon the rows of jackets and cloaks. From the far corner, Roka beckoned Manzo over. Ducking behind a rack of thick gray jackets, Roka shoved a cotton sewn cloak in Manzo’s face. “Put this on.” He ordered. Throwing the cloak on and taking a couple of straw hats, the two dashed out of the store, despite the storeowners’ protests and threats.
Heading up hill it only took a half an hour to reach the rusted gate of the Hidden Rain High Security Prison. Behind them the sounds of small explosions could be heard. It seemed as if the battle had moved outside of the village. Focusing more and more, Manzo could make that the Western Gate had been destroyed. He also thought he could make out the clang of steel on steel, but he brushed aside that thought thinking it was probably the rain hitting the metal gates.
Roka stood staring at the gates, as if a barrier prevented him from entering. “Roka. Let’s go!” Jumping over the gate Manzo tore toward the prison eager to free his friends.
END
really hope you guys liked it
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