Chapter One: Prologue
Naruto Uzumaki was four years old when he arrived in Konoha. There had been splashes of blood here and there on him, similar to the three other children present, but he had been the calmest of them all. Where they had been crying and frightened beyond belief, he appeared to be shaken but approachable. Where they had attempted to escape the Konoha ninja at every turn, he had gone peacefully and willingly.
They had traveled for days until, finally, Naruto set sights upon their new home. They had been welcomed enthusiastically by nearly the entire village – Hokage included – and hailed for surviving. Villagers had wanted to shake their hands or pat their heads before they were carted off to the hospital, because they brave, they were strong, they were survivors.
All four children had been given a medical check-up, and for safety reasons, a mental evaluation. Naruto and two others had passed as stable, but one had not and she was instantly institutionalized for being seen as a danger to herself and others. She would never recover.
The remaining three had been placed in a single room at the orphanage, but it had been unnecessary considering two of the three children had been adopted the next day. Naruto had declined every adoption offer he had received in favor of staying at the orphanage.
He remained without a roommate for a month before he was paired with another one. They had not gotten along well because Naruto had had the reputation of an odd child and was generally not well liked, but no one had ever noticed anything off or weird about their relationship.
It was the reason Naruto had not even been considered as suspect when his roommate disappeared a month later. He had been questioned but nothing more. And it was from this questioning Naruto had met the Fourth Hokage for the first time one on one. He had not liked the man at first, but after some… persuasion from a friend, he had quickly wormed his way into the life of the man.
What had started out as occasional visits to his office had turned into meeting the family and dinner at their house. With his big blue eyes, unruly – but spiky – auburn hair, and overall look of innocence and childishness, he had been instantly loved and cared for by the man's wife.
It was seven months after arriving in Konoha that they asked to adopt him. Again, with a little convincing from his friend, he accepted the proposal. Upon this acceptance, Minato Namikaze and his wife, Asami, had claimed him as a son; while their biological son, Konohamaru, had accepted him as a brother.
It was only five months later – when everything had settled down – that the mysterious disappearances began.