Chapter 2

Inu was tracking the boy around Konoha, he summoned Pakkun to trace back the whereabouts of the boy. He could do it on his own, but with the dogs it was much faster. As they traced the boy's steps inside the village, they found a trail of his blood as the child was probably escaping the mob again. 'Preposterous! This village has gone to the dogs! And I say this, even though I am a dog, Kakashi! No pup should be treated this way. 'Pakkun snorted as he sniffed around the area to check the trail.

'Hush, Pakkun, just find the boy.' Kakashi was annoyed that he had to find the boy. The ANBU that was tasked to watch him was not supposed to lose him in the village.

The dogs grumbled as they followed Naruto's trail of blood. Obviously, seeing that a child so young injured by grown mobs do not sit well with the loyal dogs and knowing that the Hokage is so powerless to prevent this from happening added to the distaste.

The boy was found outside of Konoha in a cave. It was so dark but the boy seem to find darkness not a problem as he was sleeping probably more tired and in pain from his wounds. Kakashi sent Pakkun to tell the Hokage that he had found the boy and would be taking the boy into the hospital.

Sarutobi was smoking his pipe, when a small dog appeared in front of him. 'Kakashi has found the boy injured in a cave outside of Konoha. He will take the boy to the hospital and says to meet you there.' Pakkun snorted.

'How is-' the hokage was about to ask, but the dog had already disappeared.

The hokage arrived at the hospital and saw the small, blonde boy riddled with wounds and he was again beset with guilt. The people can't seem to get over their anger over the Kyuubi attack. But he, the hokage seems powerless to stop them.

'Inu, report!'

'I followed the trail of blood from within the village to a cave outside the walls. It seems that the boy had escaped through the small hole in the eastern side of the wall. You better have someone patch that up, Hokage-sama. His wounds were from kunai wounds and from stones thrown at him. I found him sleeping in a cave, probably tired from all the running he had made trying to escape the mob.'

The hokage sighed. It was during these times that he felt powerless. A small boy was assaulted and he cannot even bring those who did it to justice.

'Have an ANBU detail watch over the boy. Let no one except me or the doctors in. The boy shall be tailed and watched over by an ANBU at all times. Make sure that he is safe from all the attacks.'

The hokage decided to settle the boy at an apartment since the orphanage cannot seem to be trusted with the boy's welfare. 'Minato, what would you have done?'

The Sandaime went back to the hokage tower, smoked his pipe while staring at his predecessors. He realized that he, the hokage, never did right by the boy as he had promised the boy's father.

Time skip

It has been a few years since Naruto was discovered in the hidden cave. Neko was the ANBU that was assigned to watch over Naruto. She has been more tolerant of the prank loving blonde, seeing that she understood why he would always act out. Naruto seems to have developed an uncanny skill in stealth, almost evading detection to execute his pranks. Most of the victims of his pranks are those civilian merchants who denied him service or over priced him on the things that he bought. Tonight is one of those days, Naruto has disappeared once again, and Neko knew everytime this happens Konoha would wake up to some of his elaborate pranks, ANBUs would be sent to get him and take him to the Hokage but for some reason the Sandaime can't seem to find it in his heart to get truly angry at Naruto. It is probably due to the fact that the Sandaime is aware of how the villagers treat Naruto but can't do anything about it.

Neko has talked to Inu, the other ANBU who was always assigned to watch over Naruto along with Tora. The little blonde hellion was due to start at the Academy and as soon as that happen the ANBU detailed to watch over him would be reduced. Neko wanted to be the one assigned as his jonin sensei the moment he graduates from the Academy. She believes that the boy had talent. He can after all escape the ANBU and more often than not, can remain hidden for quite a long time from them. Obviously the boy had stamina and endurance, it is proven by the fact that he can outrun jounins, chunins and even ANBUs, no ordinary boy can outrun and hide from a group of trained shinobi unless it was natural. And natural talent, that boy seems to have an abundance of.

Knowing that the boy would likely encounter people who resent him for what he carries in his body, his academy years would not be as good as a normal academy student will be. Neko hoped that he will be at least given a jounin who would treat him fairly. Neko didn't know why, despite her parents dying at the onslaught of the Kyuubi and yet every time she looked at the boy, she is reminded of her sensei Kushina. Her sensei was a prankster of no equal, boundless stamina and endless endurance. All of those were proven every time during training practice. Kushina-sensei would literally kill them on the training grounds but then her caring after training more than offsets the pain that she, Ibiki and Genma felt.

It was just sad that they never exactly knew what happened to their sensei, as she had been kept busy as an ANBU and Ibiki became the head of T and I, while Genma became a tokubetsu jounin. Neko sighed and wondered if her sensei would be proud of what she has achieved.

Neko lifted her head to the dark sky and prayed that she could find the blond gaki. She wanted to rest for tonight.

Neko expanded her senses to try and find the missing boy. But it was as if he has disappeared into thin air. Now, this was impossible really. She sensed Tora, Inu and Bear frantically looking for the boy as well.

Suddenly she felt it, a pulse of chakra. Odd as it may seem, it was gone as quick as it came. Neko scratched the back of her head and then once again closed her eyes thinking she probably need to train her senses again if her charge is getting good at hiding. She might just get back to meditating once more.

'There!' Her head turned towards the source of the pulse. Finally, she stood up trying to keep hold of the pulse of chakra that seemed familiar but cannot seem to place it. Naruto was too young to learn to mold chakra and then suppress it. She jumped over the roofs trying to isolate the exact location of the chakra.

She spotted him sitting cross legged on top of a tree just outside the Konoha walls. Neko dropped a few trees away not wanting to spook the child into running. She was wondering what he was doing outside the village at this hour.

'Neko? Does Jiji want to see me?' Naruto didn't even open his eyes. Neko was so surprised that he was able to sense her coming.

'Naruto, how did you know I was coming?'

'I felt you coming.' He shrugged his shoulders without even opening his eyes.

Neko was surprised and that was an understatement. Was Naruto a sensor? Ordinarily, only those with ANBU training in stealth are able to sense another ANBU especially if her specialty was espionage. Arggh! Neko was wondering if she was slacking in her training but that was impossible. She continuously trained! Her genin sensei pounded it into her brain that nobody stays strong forever. Practice and train to survive because someone would always be stronger than you, better than you. And she took it to heart. But then how can an untrained boy sense her unless he was a natural sensor. This must be reported to the Hokage. The boy seems to have an abundant potential. The boy must not be set aside. If he was trained properly he could be an asset to the village given his current status it is imperative that he must be given appropriate attention.

'Naruto? The Hokage wants you to stay in the village at all times.'

'But the village does not like me.' Naruto replied in a sad voice. 'Besides, I can feel their anger. They hate me, even I know that. I don't know how though. And I don't know why.' He turned and looked at Neko. 'You don't hate me. But they do. I feel it you know. When they look at me, they want to kill me.'

'The Hokage won't let them kill you, Naruto.'

'No, he won't, but he allows them to hurt me.' He said this in a soft voice, almost as if he was telling it to himself.

Neko cringed at that truth. She doesn't know why the Hokage allowed these things to go on. She stood up and placed her hand on his shoulders. His shoulders were so thin.

'Let me take you to the Hokage, huh?'

Naruto stood up. Neko shunshined them both out of the trees and directly into the Hokage tower.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking his pipe. He was waiting for Naruto to be brought to him. Naruto missed his daily ramen schedule with him. When the hokage asked Teuchi of the ramen stand, he said that Naruto has been there. He ate two bowls and left without saying anything after greeting the ramen stand owner.

Sarutobi was wondering what was going on with Naruto. Since the attack when Naruto was three. He seems to have slightly withdrawn into himself. He was still a prankster. He was still loud. Well not as much. It was obvious that the incident three years ago made an impact on the boy.

Neko and Naruto arrived in a shunshin.

The sandaime looked at the boy. Thin and gaunt looking but he looked directly at the hokage. Those piercing blue eyes that seem to accuse him were full of sadness. Naruto was such a happy baby and child. But three years ago, he became more contemplative and too withdrawn for the hokage's liking.

He still played pranks on the villagers but lately those pranks have been more elaborate than before. His pranks were well thought of. There were no evidences that can be traced except for the obvious signs the color orange on the paints that was used, orange confetti, orange smoke stink bombs.

The Konoha populace were not appreciative of the blond's penchant for the color and his indiscriminate use of it in his pranks.

'Naruto? Why were you outside the village again?' The hokage gently asked. 'There are many vicious animals in the Konoha forest.'

'I am safer there.' Naruto answered softly.

The Hokage and the hidden ANBU all cringe at the truth of those words.

'But you have to stay in the village, Naruto.'

'Why?', his tone was firm.

The hokage was surprised at the challenge of that particular question.

'Because I told you so.' The hokage stared intently into the boy's eyes. Seeing Minato's eyes stare back at him challengingly.

'So if you tell me to die, do I lay down and just die?' His voice was even softer than before if that was possible.

'Naruto—I would—of course I would not-,' the hokage was at a loss. The boy seems to be in a certain kind of mood today. 'I would never ask you to die and would never want you to die, Naruto.' The hokage tried again.

'But if I die at the hands of the villagers, would that be okay for you?'

The hidden ANBU were all shocked at the question. If those thoughts were going on in his mind how much mental torture was going on in him.

'Naruto! Of course not.' The Sandaime sputtered in his reply.

'Of course not.' Naruto shrugged. 'Do you need something else, Hokage-sama?'

The Hokage and the hidden ANBU were surprised. Naruto never used honorifics before. Even in his naughtiest pranks Naruto has never used honorifics for the hokage. He was always jiji, old man.

'Nothing else, Naruto, I would just like you to stay in the village to be safe.' The Hokage sighed.

'Staying in the village and my safety are two different things. But if there is nothing more to say can I go now? I feel sleepy.'

The Hokage signalled to Tora and he appeared. He wanted to talk to Neko.

'Uh- can Neko take me home?' The Hokage was surprised at the request.

'Why?'

'Tora doesn't like me.' The hokage looked at Tora. The ANBU gulped.

'He doesn't hate me, but he doesn't like me.' Naruto's voice was so soft that the Hokage strained to hear them. 'I don't like the way I feel when I am around people who don't like me.'

'What made you say that?' The Hokage was curious.

'I feel it. In here.' Naruto placed his hand on his chest. 'It felt heavy for a while now. But it even more so now. The village hates me. And I feel it, Hokage-sama. I feel all of it here.' Naruto pointed at his chest.

The Sandaime was shocked. Does Naruto have the same Negative emotions sensory skill like Mito Senju? If this was the case, then he must be guided well. After all, it has been known to the hokage that Mito Senju developed her sensory skills as an Uzumaki but was increased by the time she made herself a jinchuriki. Even the shodai's wife was overwhelmed by the influx of emotions that came to her. He remembered that in the Hokage's journal, Hashirama would often take Mito out of the village to help her sort out her emotions as she gets affected by each and every emotion that the villagers feel. Going out of the village with her husband prevents her from getting overwhelmed with them. And Hashirama would often spar with her to take out all the negative emotions that she has picked up from the villagers. Now if this was the case, then Naruto would need an outlet for all the negative emotions that he may channel but how. The hokage cringed as he would need to think it over as it could be dangerous to have a rampaging jinchuriki in the village. He knows Naruto pranks the villagers, but he didn't want those pranks to become destructive. Naruto doesn't need to make the village hate him more.

He made a signal to Tora, then he blended into the wall. 'Neko, take Naruto to his apartment and then come back.'

'Hai, Hokage-sama.'

The hokage sighed deeply. Now it seems that being a jinchuriki is starting to take a toll on Naruto. Minato, what would you have done? The Sandaime started to ask himself again the same question. Why did he ever take up this job, again?

Sarutobi was already considering the fact that if Naruto was indeed growing into a sensor, he would need an outlet to channel all the emotions. He needs to be trained to deal with them as early as possible. How the hokage would reason out to the council as to why Naruto would be provided with training as early as possible, he has no idea yet. The Hokage rubbed his eyes. He needed Jiraiya to talk about it.

Neko shunshined into the hokage's office once more.

'Neko, Report!'

'I made my check up on Naruto for the night, when I realized that he was not in his apartment. I scanned the nearby area, the playground and the Hokage mountain but he was not there. I thought he was at the ramen stand, but Ichiraku said that he had been there only once today and that was this afternoon. I scanned the village for him but since I cannot find him I made the report to you.'

'What is your personal assessment, Neko?'

'Naruto seems to be developing sensory skills, hokage-sama.'

The hidden ANBU all gasped at the idea. Sensory ninjas were relatively high on demand. As those were skills were really special and rare to have. There are those who train their senses but it will never be the same as a natural sensor.

'Explain.'

'When I couldn't find him in the village, I would usually search for him outside using my senses. His chakra signature is unique, even though he hasn't learned to channel chakra, he stands out among sensors.' The Hokage nodded, this was true. 'Even as I broadened my senses, I could not sense him. I stood at the wall of Konoha, I tried sensing him again and that was when i felt it.'

'Felt what, Neko'

'A chakra pulse.'

The hokage and the hidden ANBU gasped. A chakra pulse can only be felt by extremely good sensors and can only be used by them as well. The chakra pulse sends chakra signals into nearby surroundings much like radio waves and bounces back to the owner. This will tell the owner of the pulse what is in their surroundings. How can a boy who hasn't unlocked his chakra yet channel a chakra pulse.

'What was more, Hokage-sama, the pulse was so weak that I almost missed it twice. It seems as if it was being controlled and suppressed into such a way, that other sensors would miss it.'

'But that would mean that Naruto has unlocked his chakra and has learned suppressing it? But how?' The Hokage was shocked with all the information.

'When I had locked onto Naruto's location, I swiftly shifted into his direction. I spotted him sitting on top of a tree. I stopped a few trees away only to have him call out to me. I was so surprised that he sensed me coming without even opening his eyes.'

The hokage was so surprised by these events. It seems that Naruto's lineage is unraveling under his very nose. The fact of the matter is that no matter how the hokage may want to hide the truth of his parentage, it will be apparent in a few years, just whose child exactly he is.

'Hokage-sama, if I may speak out.' Neko started.

The hokage waved his hand and signalled for Neko to continue speaking.

'I am a fully trained sensor. I know how the sensory skills can wreak havoc on one's emotions. A fully trained shinobi can still be overwhelmed by all that is felt around them. If Naruto is indeed developing sensory skills, we might start having problems. Those emotions have affected me more than I can help. I admit, there were times that I felt the need to lash out and have one time or another caused injury to a comrade because of it. Are you following where I am going here, hokage-sama?'

The Hokage was very much aware of the situation. He is aware of how sensory skills can sometimes cause unnecessary rages due to the fact that the emotions were highly uncontrolled. Therefore sensory ninjas train as early as possible in controlling their emotions. Konoha had after all two previous jinchurikis, though it was only Mito who manifested the negative emotions sensing. Mito's temper was volatile as well. There were times that the Shodai would end up black and blue every time his wife needs an outlet when channelling negative emotions.

The ANBU standing in front of him was looking at the hokage, wondering what was going on in his mind. The leader was trying to contemplate whether it was safe to start training Naruto at least in chakra control and his sensory skills. Sarutobi was worried what Danzo might come up with. The warhawk might insist on training Naruto since it was what he does, train the emotion out of his ninjas as he believes that emotions are only a hindrance in missions.

'All of you listen to me, this will be kept a secret for now. All information pertaining to the jinchuriki Naruto will be ranked SSS secret. Anybody within this room talks about it, they will die the most painful way possible.' The Hokage was very serious.

Neko nodded her agreement. As the hidden ANBU shinobi flared their chakra in agreement to what the Hokage commanded.

'I need everybody to leave the room except for Neko,' the hokage was determined.

All the hidden ANBU shunshined out of the room. The hokage made some hand seals then the walls lit up and seals showed up on its walls.

'Neko, I need you to remove your mask.' Neko removed her mask revealing her face. She looked at the hokage without blinking, waiting for him to continue.