Naruto: Lost In Kishimoto - Revenge [Book 2]

Chapter Forty-Six: First Impressions.

Beth POV

I felt the water soak through the material of my clothing, the droplets slamming against the exposed skin, chilling me to the bone. Even so, I pushed forward, thankful for the hours of sleep I was blessed with the night before. Though my body still had a ways to go before I was at full strength, the sleep had allowed my mind to rest and focus. I knew what I had to do, I knew the challenge that lay ahead, and I was ready for it.

Looking over my shoulder I glanced at Kouta, large purple bags hanging beneath his eyes. I suspected he hadn't had much sleep, despite having the longest unbroken period of time to rest. Kouta had never had much trouble falling asleep, so either his lack of rest was covering for actions he had taken during the night, or he was stressed about the battle that was to come. Knowing Kouta, it was the former. Though curiosity echoed through my mind, I knew that there was no time for unimportant investigations. Thus, we carried on, focused and unyielding.

From what I remembered about the abilities of Nagato, he was most likely aware of my teams presence. As we moved through the city I found myself glancing between alleyways and atop of buildings, wondering how long it would be before we encountered one of his many puppets. I knew not where Jiraiya was in relation to the layout of the city, maps being inconveniently left out of Masashi Kishimoto's writing.

Holding up a hand to pause the group, I gestured to an empty alleyway just off the main walkway. We darted inside the alley, huddling into a small group. "Everyone hold out their forearms." Without question, all of my comrades obeyed my orders, holding out the bare skin of their forearms. Focusing my chakra, I began placing a series of special ninjutsu marks on their exposed skin. The marks were sizable, comprised of an epicycle made up of three circles with a cross of Saint Peter stretching the length of the mark. "These marks will allow us all to communicate with one another. Simply infuse some chakra into the mark and you'll be able to communicate with all of us. Tayuya, you and Kouta are going to search the west side of the city. Suigetsu and Karin, you'll take the east. Jugo and I will take the north. If you find anything that suggests Jiraiya was there, call in immediately. If you find Jiraiya, do not engage, even if he's in battle." With a series of swift nods, each of the pairs sped off to their respective areas.

Jugo and I flew through the northern sections of the city, checking each street and alley for any traces of Jiraiya. The city was eerily quiet, with a few voices breaking up the sound of pattering raindrops. Jugo and I exchanged looks, sharing the same suspicions. However, we kept moving forward, jumping from building to building, eager to spot anything that could help us in our mission. I didn't expect to find anything that would directly lead us to Jiraiya, relying more on our ability to find the man himself. Yet, I wasn't about to overlook anything and potentially put Jiraiya in danger.

"There's always a trail. Sometimes it isn't physical, but it's always mental." The voice of the Third Hokage radiated within my mind. I remembered the conversation thoroughly. His lesson at the time was contextual within the analysis of an opponent, a lesson that greatly helped me in the Third Chuunin Exam. Analyse the thought processes of an enemy and you can predict their future attacks. "What is their desired outcome? Their purpose? If you know that information, then you can deduce the actions needed to reach that desired outcome. And thus, you are able to deduce exactly what your enemy will do."

"Jiraiya's intent is to discover information about Pain. He's here for intel." Jugo turned to face me, his face curious. "What's the best way to find information in an environment like this?"

"The people." Jugo answered.

"Interrogation." I agreed. "Jiraiya would've grabbed someone and asked them about Pain. After the civil war it's only logical to assume that the shinobi of the village would know about their leader." I rarely voiced my thoughts out loud, but in this instance, sharing the puzzle that was forming within my mind was helping immensely.