I have to run faster!
"huff...huff...huff"
He had been running for over a day now beyond his top speed, leaping from tree to tree wherever a tree line came. But he knew he could not stop, he knew he had to go even faster. His lungs were aching by now, his chest was on fire, his limb muscles were swollen and throbbing to signal their tiredness and he was aware; only he knew he could not stop. Even his ninja mind, which was used to staying awake and active for long hours, was tired and painful now but he knew he just could not stop.

For he knew he didn't have much time. He had to make it back to the village in time. He had to report to the Hokage. He had to tell him that the end of the village is coming.

"huff...hufff...huff... Just a few more... hours now."

Sensei, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you and my friends back there. Why did you have to make me be the one to go and report to the village? I wanted to stay and fight. I know I could have. I'm not as strong as you or Sasuke but I know I could have made a difference. Just because they said so, you didn't have to send me back! And what about Sakura!? Why couldn't you have sent her!?
"Dammit Dammit Dammit! " he coughed between spits coming out his mouth.

Finally the village came into view. And he sped towards it, exerting the last remaining strength he had to reach the gates where the Guardsmen were stationed.

"What do you want brat? Why are you alone? Why aren't Kakashi senpai and the rest of the team with you? Are you abandoning your mission?", One of the guards bombarded him with questions before the boy even had time to catch his breath.
" I have to… report to…. the Hokage! Please! The whole village depends on it….. Please!" he cried in reply.
"Lord Hokage does not see useless brats, especially if they haven't completed their mission." said the other guard, " so you go right back to your mission and come back when you've done the completion report"

Why am i wasting time here? thinking that and knowing that the guards would be of no help, he took advantage of the size of his twelve year old body and sped past between them.

"Hey!" cried one of the guards as he gave chase, but the boy was well versed in the art of tackling village guards. He shook off the guard and quietly made his way towards the Hokage toeing, and silently he entered and, using a ventilation shaft that could not possible fit an adult's body, he made his way to the Hokage's office.

"Come down from there Naruto-kun, I know you are there." said a cold voice, "I've known ever since you stepped into the mansion"
Naruto obeyed and jumped down from the shaft.
The Hokage was seated on his chair turned away from the boy, looking out of the windows into the distance. Then he turned his chair towards the boy and his cold face gave Naruto chills, like it always did whenever he saw him.
"Though I am surprised you know the ventilation system so thoroughly to make your way here so quickly. I wonder if Kakashi or some other Jounin had told you. Oh well….What is it you want?"

As was enforced in the Village; whenever in audience with the Hokage, whether the person is ninja or civilian, they had to kneel and then speak. That is what Naruto did and then he spoke, "Lord Orochimaru, something's coming towards the village. Something huge; it was a big machine. Kakashi Sensei and Sasuke and Sakura stayed behind to destroy it but it had strange defenses and they were in alot of trouble. Sensei sent me back here on some man's orders."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, "So your team got ambushed on a mission? I do not recall the mission being of any dangerous nature at all", he said with an unsatisfied look.

"Please, Lord Hokage, you have to do something!", cried Naruto again," everyone is in danger!"

"Silence boy!" said Orochimaru, with a hiss that gave Naruto goosebumps, "I do not have to do anything! How dare you advise me to act? I sent your team on a simple mission, which you could have completed long ago and be back by now, but your sensei clearly had something else in mind and he decided to steer away in some other direction, taking you little kids with him. Now he's in a pinch and is asking for support. I will not send anyone to assist those who defy my instructions!"

"But Lord-", Naruto was about to protest but Orochimaru disappeared, and within an instant, appeared behind him.

"Did I just not tell you to be silent!" Orochimaru spat at him from behind, picked him up by the collar and sent him flying outside the office's window, "Learn your place before coming back".

Well that is over with, that boy is really a nuisance. Now then, lets move…...

Naruto landed on his back on a shed below the Hokage's office, bounced off it and fell to the ground underneath. He was used to getting beat up but what hurt more was his trust in the Hokage name. He had always thought that no matter what the trouble, the Hokage would always help.
If only the old man Third was still alive…..He would have listened and done something for sure….
"Dammit I don't have time for thinking this," he said as he quickly got up and raced towards the village market; the busiest place in town, "I'm sure someone will listen there."

He got to the market in a few seconds, and climbed on top of a shop. He inhaled as much as he could and then scream at the top of his lungs, "OOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! EVERYONE! YOU HAVE TO BRACE YOURSELVES AND GET READY! THERE"S SOMETHING COMING TOWARDS THE VILLAGE! CIVILIANS GET TO SAFETY AND NINJA BE PREPARED TO FIGHT! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!"

He was shouting the same words over and over again to get people to listen and understand the danger. People turned to look, saw who it was, and went back to their business. They all knew the kid, and they all hated him. They never wanted to hear his voice or see his face. And if it weren't for the Sandaime's decree they would surely have gotten up there to pummel his screaming face for making all that noise. Still enough was enough and some people had shorter temper than others…..

Naruto suddenly got hit by a tomato to his face, which sent the red juice spewing down his face. His shouting stopped in shock. Then he got thrown at another vegetable, and a fruit, another fruit and eventually by stones and bricks, some of which hit, others missed him by a few inches. As his shock subsided, he could start to make out the villager's words they were barking at him while throwing things at him.

"Oy you devil boy!" shouted one villager, "Stop your pranks".
"Oy get out of here!" screamed an elderly, "You're not welcome here, much less your shouting".
"Oi stop your pranks!" said a young lady, "We're already tired of you and we don't want you around."
"Yeah, get lost!" "Yeah you little devil!" "Stop spewing lies!"

Naruto was shocked at all their remarks at him, sure he played pranks once in a while but that was just to get attention, to get love, never to hurt anyone. He never thought he was hated so much. He could not understand why they would not listen at all, even when their lives were in so much danger.

"Please you have to-" , Naruto was going to explain what was coming but a sharp rock came straight at hm and hit him on the forehead, sending a stream of blood trickling down across his face, down his neck and into his clothes.

Then more of the sharper rocks came, and to protect himself he put up his arms as a shield.

"PLEASE! Listen to-" He tried to reach out his voice again but it was no use. He just sat there trying again and again to make his voice be heard by all the response he got was curses and rocks.

Then a strange voiced resounded across the whole village, and the sky. Everyone heard it, they stopped targeting the boy to look up where it was coming from. And In a few milliseconds, something dropped at the village gate, immediately turning into a huge green explosion that came speeding towards the market place where all the people stood. Everyone saw in horror as the explosion ate everything up in its path; people, animals, buildings everything. People had no time to reach, they were too deep in shock, and the explosion was on them. It devoured them all and unflinching kept racing on its path.

The explosion continued to spread to a long area and ate everything up, all that was left was rubble.

Naruto woke up, he did not know how long it had been since he'd been asleep or unconscious or what. But he saw that everything around him was nothing any more. His eyes widened to see that where so many people were cursing him in a hustling bustling market place of a lush green developed village, now there remained nothing at all. Just him, for as far as his eyes could see. He turned around to see the great mountain and his horror only grew as he saw that the Hokage monument was gone as well; the whole mountain leveled to the ground. All that remained was some green residual traces from the explosion that felt alien.

And he finally realized; The Village Hidden in the leaves was no more.

His mind went blank, he fell to his knees, and he screamed and shouted on the top of his voice. He began to cry and beat his fists to the ground; all without realizing what he was doing. Then a question came to his mind
How am I still alive? And unhurt?
He thought and thought and no answer came to his mind.

Then a figure came up behind him and in a strong yet uncaring voice he said, "I bet you're thinking what happened. And for whatever happened, why you're the only one who survived." Naruto slowly turned around and the voice continued, "Well I can give you the answer to the second question, see you have something inside you; I know you know it. That protected you; see that insidious chakra coat is still around you. But I guess that thing was probably just protecting itself since if you died, it would die too" He chuckled as he finished.

Naruto turned around now fully, to see a man with long hair covering one of his eyes, wearing red samurai armor and the other eye that inspired awe in Naruto, widening his eyes; It was a Sharingan, and not like Kakashi sensei's or Sasuke's as he had seen during their mission with Tazuna in the land of waves. No; those Sharingan had tomoe circling around the pupil, but these, they were a totally different shape and far more menacing.

And as Naruto looked closely, he was holding a body in his right arm, the body of a girl, someone around his age.

"Here Naruto" spoke the Sharingan figure again, "I just came to give you this" And he threw the girl's body at Naruto's knees.

"Wh- Whaa-Noo-", muttered Naruto weakly, "S-Sa-Sakura!" He exclaimed finally as he fell over her and began to cry for it was the dead body of a girl he had the biggest of crushes on, even big enough to be called love. But that was all dead now with the girl.

Something suddenly clicked inside him, and his eyes went blank, the orange chakra coat around him suddenly began to swell and form tail like figures and then it exploded into a huge column. The sheer amount of energy oozing out of his explosion seemed to push away the green residual traces of the explosion before.

"Yes! YES!" the Sharingan man exclaimed delight, almost as if he wanted and predicted events to go this way, "I will certainly have more use for you Naruto." Saying that, he sped towards the boy in less than an instant and put his palm to his forehead. Using some strange jutsu, he put a stop to the sheer energy coming out of the boy and then with a chop to his neck, he put him out cold.

He bent down to his unconscious body and spoke into his ear, "You will remember these words; I am Madara Uchiha. Come find me, for I am responsible". With that he stood up and smiled at the clear air he was able to breathe finally thanks to Naruto's chakra blowing all the green traces away, before jumping into the air and disappearing into the distance, leaving the dead body of the girl and an unconscious Naruto behind in the middle of nowhere which was once the place of the greatest village in the world.

To be continued...