The situation is currently not good.
I finally caught up with Naruto on the outskirts of Sand only to find he wasn't alone. There were two Akatsuki with him, but it didn't look like they'd done anything yet. One of them I recognized from my last encounter with this group--Hoshigaki Kisame. But instead of Itachi, someone else was there with him--Deidara, yet another S-rank criminal and missing-nin, from Hidden Rock Village. I've had just a little experience with Kisame to know how to better approach him than I did with Deidara, so it was best to take this situation by surprise.
Unfortunately, my presence was sensed before I could get close enough for a sneak attack, but they didn't have my identity or location so I still had an advantage. I used a genjutsu specifically designed for luring the enemy to attacking, so I can observe what their style may be before making a move. Deidara did reveal that he(she?) used explosions or bombs of some kind involving clay, but beyond that I haven't been able to tell how they work, and before I could continue to observe that, they realized it was a genjutsu and Kisame charged in to attack Naruto. I didn't have any choice after that but to reveal myself, and leapt in front of Naruto, both of us jumping back just in time to avoid the down-swing of Kisame's sword.
The impact of the blade on the ground kicked up a lot of the sand, so I took out a camouflage cloak to hide myself and Naruto in. ...Hm, that kid. I didn't even need to tell him to make replicas of ourselves to throw them off; as soon as I reached for the cloak, he was already creating the kage bushin clones, one henged into my form. It's still surprising how a boy who had such poor grades in class ended up with such clever instincts, but looking at how Shikamaru turned out, perhaps my ideals about geniuses need to be rearranged.
I covered us quickly, both in sight and scent, and our clones took off in one direction, luring our opponents away. It wouldn't be long before they were caught/killed however, so I used an earth-burrowing jutsu to gain us some distance. (It's a good thing my years as a spy gave me opportunity to learn different styles; although I still pale in comparison to a ninjutsu expert like Kakashi.) When we surfaced again a short while later, I told Naruto to follow me and ran into a nearby canyon. There were plenty of stone ways that looked like bridges between the canyons to make good hiding places as we regrouped.
The plan was to escape, not fight. While I don't like to let everyone know about it, I'm not really made for battle. Working with my team has helped me improve in that area over the past few years, but previously, my skills were always used more for information gathering and spying.
I lacked a bit of experience, and Naruto lacked a lot more experience and the skill. During my last encounter with these guys, they'd managed to incaptiate Copy Ninja Kakashi. It was wise not to underestimate them, and even wiser to avoid confrontation altogether, especially considering our resources. More than anything, it was vital that they not get their hands on Naruto. So escaping it was.
Unfortunately, Naruto didn't agree with that one bit.
As we entered the canyon, I managed to ask Naruto questions on how and when he met the Akatsuki, and also why he came all the way out to Sand. As it turned out, he'd only just encountered them, so I had managed to interrupt their capture. Even more fortunate, it turned out Jiraiya-sama was in the area along with Kei. This gaves us a goal and destination. I told Naruto to start taking us to Jiraiya immeditately. Surely a Legendary Sannin would be able to help even up this fight.
"WHAAAAAT?! WE'RE RUNNING AWAY?!?!"
Perhaps a canyon was not the best place to regroup considering sound echoes well there and I was, after all, with the loudest ninja in all Konoha.
He practically came to a halt right there, and I had to grab his collar and force him to keep moving, practically dragging him behind me the entire time, snapping at him to keep his voice down. He seemed adamant about not "being a coward" as he put it, and fighting his own battles, struggling to get out of my grip while he was at it. I swear, for being so clever he really is a... well... blockhead, for the lack of a better word. I turned to him to start a long, informative lecture on what disasters would occur if the Akatsuki managed to kidnap him and gain his abilities, when I heard something from above.
My split attention allowed Naruto to break free of my grip and I left him only one leap behind, but in that small distance, I could see from the corner of my eye something flying down at him. I breaked as hard as I could, shouting out a warning while pivoting and diving back for him. By the time I reached him, there only felt enough time to push him; I couldn't even turn around to block.
Something hit my back and I could feel the burning just before the bang. An explosion tag--no, it'd been too heavy for that. A bomb? It was a powerful one. I was blown clear off my feet and into the canyon wall, and I thought I heard someone call my name. Naruto, perhaps...?
Naruto!
The blast still left me numb, so the pain hadn't kicked in just yet, but little sense of the nerves made it difficult to steady myself. Looking up, I could see Naruto standing between me and our attackers, the Akatsuki.
They found us sooner than I thought they would. This was going to be a lot more trouble than I hoped for.
...
Ah, there's the pain.