When Naruto was appointed to go on a diplomatic and political mission as the future Hokage he had immediately jumped up to the task Tsunade had prepared for him . He was to simply go to any country that was not affiliated with the Allied Shinobi Forces and try to persuade them to join. He knew this was important, not only for peace to be maintained, but if the middle and smaller countries joined forces and went against the allied forces, they would not be able to defeat the Allied Shinobi Forces, but hundreds upon thousands of people would die. Naruto, simply being the creature of selflessness he is, took it upon himself to exceed at this mission that he was only given one month to complete. The mission had gone, well awfully if someone asked the blonde. After urging himself to meditate more and more often, it was easy for Naruto to sense emotion and life beats, so Naruto could tell anyone he spoke to on the mission was being a hundred percent fake. After the war, and all of the drama with rebuilding a life with Sasuke, who came back to village after, Naruto had grown an obsession with hearing life beats. Okay, maybe it was because Sasuke and Naruto's life beats were exactly the same, in perfect sync. Naruto didn't know quite why, but he had his own ideas. Naruto was pulled away from his thoughts about life beats when he found himself in the center of Amegakure, being pulled down by not one, but 5 different little kids. "Naruto-San! Can you play with us? Please?" Naruto could sense the desperation emanating off of the young children. Naruto, being the caring person he is, followed the kids in an effort to rid them of whatever cruel being would do something as horrible. It was the last day Naruto was supposed to be away from Konoha, so he was hoping that he could do this quickly and teleport home. Well at least that was what Naruto was hoping before everything went dark.
The first week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Hinata lost it. Though the younger Hyuuga was with Kiba and happy, her infatuation had never been completely lost through the years. After Naruto was gone for one week extra, the Hyuuga had taken it upon her as a duty to her own love for Naruto to find him. She was under some delusionally thought process that he was hiding in the village, ready to play a joke on them anytime soon. When the end of the week arrived, Kiba and Hinata had gotten into a huge screaming match that ended with the powerful sobbing body wracking tears in the arms of the Inuzuka. "He-he told us he wouldn't leave. H-He said th-that he w-would al-always be here. I-it was h-his way of n-nin-ninja." She had cried between the tears and gasps plaguing her small but sturdy and well built body.
The second week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Sakura lost it. The pinkette and the blonde had become so close over the years, that most people thought they were a secret couple. However, Naruto had come out right after the war as bisexual and leaning more towards men, mainly coming out as bisexual so that Hinata didn't go crazy, he really only liked men. Naruto being missing took its toll on Sakura, other than Tsunade, who had no time, Naruto was the only one with enough chakra and chakra control to spar properly with Sakura. Not to mention Naruto had become wiser than most of the village elders themselves over the years, and was a great resource for Sakura to go to no matter what. He never judged prematurely and was somehow able to remain calm most of the time now a days. When Sakura heard the news from Shizune that it was official, Naruto was missing in action, in another six weeks they might have to put it down in the official records as killed in action, she punched the wall to her house. Her power so raw and unmatchable that it completely shattered the base of her shelter, soon enough Sakura had brought her whole house down.
The third week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Chouji lost it. It was unexpected for sure, as far as everyone knew, Chouji and Naruto were friends, close friends at that, but nobody could really believe it. Chouji had always been self conscious about his weight, but when it came to how much he ate, nobody could relate to him, well except for Naruto. And now Naruto being gone, who was going to be there for him. However, Naruto wasn't there for Chouji just to feel good about his eating habits, other than Shikamaru, nobody truly understood Chouji. Until Naruto came, Naruto, just like Chouji was insanely strong, but was made fun of and was never truly able to tap into his true power. Finally, in the war, after having to defeat Asuma, Chouji was able to bud into an amazingly powerful young man who was no longer insecure about the petty things. When Naruto was missing at the end of the end of the extra three weeks, he didn't eat for the whole day, his mood completely down, the only thing coming slightly close to cheering him up and pulling him out of the negative thoughts invading his mind was sitting in silence staring at the gloomy sky with Shikamaru.
The fourth week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Lee lost it. The remaining of the Konoha 11 were just waiting for Lee to go crazy. Rock Lee, one of the strongest taijutsu ninjas, self-proclaimed rival of Naruto, was in a slump without his rival. So accustomed to being able to measure his abilities to one of the strongest ninjas in the world, that not even sparring with Gai-Sensei could satiate the need for a true match. Lee had a hard childhood, always wanting to be a ninja without any skills in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and below average in taijutsu. Albeit, his childhood was nowhere near as hard as what Naruto had gone through, Naruto had always been there and though he went through worse, he never downplayed Lee's problems. The blonde Uzumaki was always able to match Lee's enthusiasm, something nobody could. When the fourth week Naruto was gone when he was supposed to be back, Lee left the village, going nowhere in particular. Lee had gone to the forest surrounding Konoha and had begun to train, not stopping for anyone or anything. Without food or water for days upon days. He would stop every three days, drink lots of water and stuff his face with protein, and go straight back to his intensive training regime.
The fifth week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Ino lost it. After Sasuke came back and displayed an entirely new side of him, there was no more fangirling over the Uchiha. He had become a sassy joking person, still reserved as always, but he was social and happy since returning to Konoha. Sasuke lost all of his appeal to the girls when he said he was gay, everyone knew he was chasing after Naruto, but the future Hokage had little to no time for one on one time with Sasuke. Thus Sasuke and Ino became friends, they were not as close as Sakura and Ino, or as close as Sasuke and Naruto, but they were able to fangirl together about one thing. The jinchuuriki had filled out most definitely and man was it hot. Naruto stood between lean and bulky, unlike Juugo, he wasn't all muscle, but in no way was he like the Uchiha, slender and lean. Naruto had muscle for days and sharp features that were more prominent after he lost all of his baby fat; his high cheek bones, messy blonde locks, blue eyes, and height that topped Sasuke by just a few centimeters made the Uzumaki desirable by all. Not to mention the fact that occasionally when Sasuke and Ino would be at the Nara forest that was destroyed by Pein's attack Naruto would be meditating. Shirtless. When Naruto was not returning and all Ino had to admire was her scrawny boyfriend's Sai's physique. (Don't get her wrong, Sai was still lean and made of muscle, a good example of traditional Japanese beauty, but it simply wasn't as attractive as Naruto.) She lost it, a genin team she offered to help out train with Sai receiving the worst of it. She had turned to training them extra hard, at one point Sasuke even tried to put her under a genjutsu so that her students could take a break from their insane trainer, but Sasuke eventually ran out of chakra. Subconsciously everyone knew that the real reason Ino had snapped was because she was close to Naruto, he was the only one who provided with sensible advice on how to deal with everything, especially after becoming the head of T&I and the Yamanaka clan, taking after her father. Naruto said the weirdest things, but in the end he was always right.
The sixth week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Kiba lost it. He had self proclaimed Naruto as his rival as well as Lee, still trying to prove the fact that he would be a better than Hokage. Mainly Kiba's hopeless cries of indignance falling upon deaf ears, but not with Naruto. Naruto would give off a chuckle that showed his age did not dictate how truly wise the blonde had become, then Naruto would give Kiba a senseless job as a prank and Kiba would do the chores of the village wholeheartedly just to prove that he would be better than Naruto. Soon enough though, Kiba gained his own Anbu team, it was easy for him to understand the dynamic of teamwork in ninjutsu, considering he worked with Akamaru. However Kiba's pride did not allow him to easily gel with anyone but Akamaru and his old genin teammates. Naruto had overlooked that when giving Tsunade his recs for the Anbu teams, he had seen that Kiba's sensory type and brilliancy at plans that ensured safety and success, he had fully believed that Kiba would make one of the best Anbu captains there ever has been, and after three or four missions it was clear. Shikamaru had even resorted to silently judging Kiba's ingenious plans positively, but they were still no match for the Nara genius. When Naruto was gone that sixth week, it was only two weeks until they considered him dead and Kiba was not ready. He could see how Naruto brought complete strength out of anyone he knew, knowing their weaknesses and strengths, drawing out the most power out everyone. Kiba had resorted to simply staying silently with Hinata and Akamaru, the silence thick with emotion, but intimate for the couple that was otherwise so uncasual.
The seventh week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Tenten lost it. Tenten was special. She did not have a crazy relationship with Naruto in which he had changed her life, at least not that she knew of. But as the kid grew, he grew on Tenten as well, able to keep Lee in check and on track, able to make plans and stay calm in all situations, he had skills she respected. He brought an atmosphere upon the village through the work he threw himself in that Tenten loved. Without the beautiful mood of Konoha, always bright and sunny, Konoha just simply wasn't home for Tenten. Naruto had however, completely changed the life of Neiji, and for that Tenten was always grateful, he come to age wonderfully, affluent and powerful on the battlefield, not to mention that his gentleness wasn't only prominent in his fighting style. When Tenten heard the news, she was shocked. She had truly believed the mission was simply taking too long, not that he was missing. Tenten liked to believe that she had not gone crazy, but she had become completely dependent upon her partner, Neiji. Without the mood that Naruto brought upon Konoha, she simply curled up in the bed that she shared with Neiji and had fallen asleep, truly giving up her responsibilities, trying to find something to anchor her into a sense of home other than Naruto.
The eighth week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Shino lost it. Shino never had extra feeling tying himself down to Naruto, but he did have pure trust running through his veins for the Uzumaki. It was kind of scary, sometimes if Shino's Anbu team captain told him to do something, he might just not do it if he deemed it a wrong move, but with Naruto, it was different. Whatever Naruto told the Aburame to do, he would with no questions asked because he felt it as his duty to Konoha to serve Naruto. When the Aburame heard that Naruto was now considered dead, slowly but surely, he ended up letting his bugs eat the chakra he had, causing him to have a devastating hospital visit where both Tsunade, Sakura, and Shizune had to to transfer lots of their Chakra reserves, not to mention the other Aburame's coming in too control his bugs that were now feasting upon Shino himself.
The ninth week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Neiji lost it. The Hyuuga had always had a special tie to Naruto, he like Sasuke was a prodigy called out to the real world and shown his true place, letting Neiji disregard feelings of arrogance and truly become a better shinobi. It was easy for Neiji to hide his feelings around everyone but Tenten, however when Konoha officially released the news that for the last week Naruto was officially considered dead, Neiji could not control the paranoia that took over his body. Neiji could simply not believe someone other than a god could bring Naruto down, and if there was a god on this earth now, it would be considered Naruto. By most of Konoha's and Konoha's allies enemies, Naruto was simply called the god, or angel of death. No one wanted to face such a powerful young man. Neiji was in awe, and his nickname of the ice queen, was shed easily when the remaining sane of Konoha 11 saw his emotions running wild when Neiji was delivered the news. When he would fight, his chakra control was completely out of the window, it was as if chakra was seeping through his every pore, and that did nothing but deplete his chakra. Now another elite member of the Konoha 11 stuck in the hospital, on the verge of life and death if it were not the skills and large chakra reserves of the Hokage, Hokage's assistant, and head of the hospital, Sakura.
The tenth week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Shikamaru lost it. Shikamaru had always been able to control his emotions completely, easily masking any hint of feeling. Never had his emotions come out freely, except when speaking with his father occasionally, but his father was dead. That was the truth of it, and now the only other person Shikamaru considered himself loyal too was dead. Naruto. The name had become a phantom, haunting everyone silently, no one dared to refer to it. Shikamaru had been affected by it deeply, his shogi board was in pieces, and his shadow possession jutsu was only becoming stronger with all the free time he had. It had gotten so bad that Sakura had to heal Shikamaru's lungs because of his horrible tendency of smoking cigarettes. It was the only thing that stopped the geniuses over active mind. When Shikamaru's genius mind finally stopped taking its time for once whilst thinking about Naruto he had locked himself in his room. The Nara heir hadn't sat in silence or wrecked everything and anything in his sight. Shikamaru had curled up in a ball weeping.
The eleventh week that Naruto didn't return from his mission Sasuke lost it. Everyone knew that the Uchiha was in love with Naruto. Whether the young Anbu said it or not, he had been on every single mission to find Naruto, every single intel scout, anything, everything. He was growing desperate. All he wanted to do was pull on the hem of the black shirt that Naruto wore. Just thinking of the black shirt Naruto wore would send Sasuke into a frenzy. After coming back from the war and being promoted to a S-class ninja Naruto was a hero to all, and also able to fully support himself. Sasuke had learned quickly once he started to truly spend time with the blonde that the orange jump suit was simply all the young boy could afford, similarly, Naruto's addiction to ramen was mainly based upon the fact that Teuchi was the only person not to tamper with the young boy's food when serving the Uzumaki. Now Naruto still had a love for ramen, but ate a good variety of food, not to mention everyone's relief when Naruto took to wearing black track pants a mesh shirt, and a grey shirt with a small red Uzumaki clan spiral in the upper-center of the back. Of course, as Naruto grew older he had decided to during missions he would don the regular jonin attire in order to downplay his appearance. Sasuke appreciated much of these changes, however Sasuke couldn't help but feel strong positive and negative emotions when Naruto lost more and more of his crazy personality, reaching a perfect balance of his parents. The blonde was never completely calm, nor was he obnoxious about his actions now. Sasuke found himself falling more and more for this Naruto, someone that could truly relate to him. Although, that was the worst part. Naruto had been through everything, able to relate to Sasuke, but Sasuke would never be able to really relate to Naruto. Always was the thought that Sasuke was simply toxic for Naruto on the Uchiha's mind. It took longest for the Uchiha to snap although he loved the blonde the most out of all the village. The main difference was that the Uchiha knew exactly what Naruto was capable, with and without help of Kurama, both options extremely powerful, often Naruto went on S-class missions by himself and came back completely unscathed without even tapping into Kurama's chakra or his sage mode. Sasuke knew exactly what Naruto was capable of, and deep down he believed that the one he loved was completely okay, however with all the talk of the village Sasuke couldn't help but be outraged. When Sasuke snapped, he had simply sat at the entrance to the village, doing nothing but closing his eyes, often when the guards changed they would look over at Sasuke and call Sakura, hoping she could do something about his eyes that were bleeding, but the pinkette did nothing other than clean the blood. She knew exactly what the Uchiha was doing and prayed to god that at some point he would open his eyes.