Disclaimer: The day I own Naruto is the day Hell freezes over.
It had been nothing more than a simple patrolling mission. Naruto and Sakura, as well as several other small groups of ninjas, were to guard Konoha's borders and keep any enemies out. Simple.
How were they supposed to know that the Akatsuki would choose that day to capture the Kyuubi?
They could feel the strong chakra signatures approaching fast; it wasn't long before two red and black blurs landed before them on a sturdy tree branch. Itachi and Kisame.
Naruto growled, instantly striking a defensive stance as he pulled Sakura behind him. The pink-haired girl frowned at her teammate, quickly moving so that she was by his side. The defiant look in her emerald-green eyes let the demon-vessel know that she had no intentions of watching the battle from the sidelines.
The shark gave a smarmy grin as he raised his Samehada over his shoulder, an insatiable lust for blood and the upcoming fight shining in his eyes. The weasel's expression was as serious and impassive as ever. Cold crimson eyes briefly met with fiery cerulean blue.
The corner of Itachi's lips twitched.
Kisame lunged for Naruto, swinging his massive blade with precise strokes; Naruto barely had enough time to dodge the sword that was aimed for his face. Still, the blade quivered in delight as it slowly ate away at the boy's chakra reserves.
Just as Sakura was preparing to land a chakra-powered punch to the back of Kisame's head, Itachi leapt from the tree branch and landed in her path. The kunoichi, wary of being caught in the Sharingan user's powerful doujutsu, quickly averted her eyes to the ground by his feet. If she had to fight against a shinobi of Itachi's caliber then she had to fight smart.
Kisame grinned, showing off his pointed teeth as he successfully sliced away at the blonde boy's arm. Naruto screamed, clutching at his wound to slow the blood flow. The scent of his blood quickly filled the air around them, causing the shark's nostrils to flare.
He couldn't kill the Kyuubi brat, but who said he couldn't have a little fun with him?
Sakura roared out a battle cry as she stomped her foot into the ground; a loud rumble echoed as the earth cracked in a zigzagged line from Sakura's boots until it started to crumble beneath Itachi's feet. Any lesser ninja probably would've fallen victim to the attack, but Itachi was no lesser ninja. He easily dodged the assault with a graceful jump to the left and out of the attack's range.
The girl was a powerful opponent; this battle could prove to be entertaining.
Naruto panted heavily as he watched Kisame from a small distance; the missing nin wasn't even breaking a sweat. That chakra-eating sword was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Even with the large amount of chakra he gained from being the Kyuubi's vessel, Naruto was left feeling drained and weakened. Close combat was not an option; if he got too close then that sword would eat even more of his chakra. However, Naruto had little experience in fighting an opponent from a distance. Naruto grinned; he had overcome worse situations than this.
Sakura lunged for Itachi as he was regaining his footing, giving the former Uchiha prodigy a well-aimed, chakra-powered punch to his ribs. The moment her fist connected with the elder ninja's ribs, Itachi's form disappeared in a puff of smoke. A clone. Sakura's eyes widened as the cold tip of a kunai pressed against the back of her neck.
Naruto turned towards Sakura, his eyes full of worry as he saw her at the mercy of the most dangerous ninja to ever leave Konoha. Sakura. He had to save Sakura! The boy had already lost one teammate; he couldn't lose her too. He tried to rush off to Sakura's aid, but was stopped as a large, heavy object as it connected with the back of his skull. Naruto's eyes became blurry and unfocused; his vision of Sakura turned into a fuzzy, pale outline, then faded until nothing was left but darkness.
Kisame grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming in the light as the Kyuubi-vessel fell to the ground, unconscious. The boy would be out for at least an hour; that would give the Akatsuki members enough time to escape out of Konoha territory with the Kyuubi. Headquarters was at least two days traveling distance away, not that it mattered. The Samehada would constantly suck away the boy's chakra, making him much too weak to attempt escape.
A single droplet of sweat beaded down Sakura's brow. What could she do? How could she possibly defeat two S-class missing nin on her own? Usually, when things were looking this tough, Naruto would come up with some brilliant scheme on the spot and save the day. Sakura risked taking a quick glance at Naruto's still figure, lying on the forest floor with his limbs sprawled out. It didn't look like Naruto was going to come to the rescue this time.
Itachi pondered to himself as he held the kunai against the shivering kunoichi's neck. It was a shame the girl had given up so easily. He had been hoping for more of a challenge. The girl had so much strength and potential for even more improvement, but she still was no match for him as of yet. Perhaps, given she received the proper training, she could become a worthy opponent one day.
With this thought in mind, Itachi swiftly hit the girl in the back of her skull with the blunt end of the kunai, rendering her unconscious. Sakura fell to the ground with a thump, her arms and legs splayed out immodestly.
Kisame grunted as he lifted the demon-vessel over his shoulder, grumbling as the boy's blood dripped down his cloak. He slowly moved towards Itachi, holding Naruto securely against himself in case the boy somehow found the strength to wake up and struggle. He stopped once he reached Itachi's side, staring down at the pink-haired girl on the ground.
"So," Kisame started, his eyes still on the kunoichi, "What do we do with her?"
"Nothing. We came for the Kyuubi; the girl is of no concern to us." Itachi turned to his partner, giving the other man a serious, expressionless look.
Still, Kisame kept his eyes on the girl. "It would be troublesome if she were to wake up and tell her village of our visit. Anbu might slow us down, and you know how impatient Leader can get…"
"Do what you want." And with that, Itachi leapt into the trees, heading back towards Akatsuki headquarters.
Kisame stared after his partner for a moment before returning his gaze to the female before him. It would really be a pain in the neck if the girl told the Hokage that Naruto's disappearance was due to the Akatsuki. The best course of action would be to kill her, yet, Kisame couldn't bring himself to do it. The man had always enjoyed a challenge and the girl had the potential to become a worthy adversary in the future.
Besides, even he wasn't as low as to murder a young girl while she was unconscious.
With a sigh, Kisame hefted the girl up onto his only available shoulder and hurried off to catch up to Itachi.
Please forgive the over-all suckiness of this so far. I don't think I'm very good with fighting scenes. Still, I've been eager to write a regular Naruto fanfiction for some time now and this is the result. This is just the prologue and I'm still not sure how it's going to turn out, because I haven't thought up anything for the future plot yet. Lol.
Feedback would be very much appreciated. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions for a better title for this story. I know the title sucks. xD