Hiruzen Sarutobi had become a prideful man.
The man hailed as "The Professor" across the Elemental Nations, his knowledge could have been the source of this pride. Very few, if any, could boast that they know more than the veteran of three shinobi wars. Though he was proud of his title, it was not Sarutobi's pride.
The Village-Hidden-In-The-Leaves, Konoha, his lifelong work as both a man and as a ninja. In these peaceful years, the village has prospered under his guidance. It is the realized vision of his former sensei, a perfect collaboration between shinobi and civilian life.
As Sarutobi walked through the street, many people bowed to him with respect, which he returned with a smile and a nod. His people were happy, he could not ask for much else in life. Today was a special day though, it was time for his weekly meeting with Naruto.
An excitable young boy, he always had a certain flair that astounded Hiruzen. What boy could come up with pranks so well-made that he could catch veteran shinobi? The elderly Hokage chuckled at the memory when one of his talented ANBU, Neko, once set off an itching powder catapult when she attempted to capture the boy in his apartment. She could barely stay hidden in his office because the whole room could hear her scratching through the silence.
With a final chortle, Hiruzen found himself outside of Ichiraku Ramen. He gently pushed aside curtain and was rather surprised to see no sign of Naruto. Teuchi returned from the kitchen and immediately bowed at the sight of the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama! It is an honor to have you here again." The chef replied with a smile. "You're early today, I have just started cooking the noodles. It will be awhile before the ramen will be ready."
The Hokage nodded with a bright smile. "That will be fine Teuchi-san. I still need to wait for my little ramen connoisseur after all."
With the Hokage's presence, the small restaurant owner was acting a little self-conscious. The chef wiped down the counters, straightened the signs, and many other little things. Hiruzen has eaten here for the past year and he still needed to put the "younger" man at ease when Naruto was not around.
"The restaurant is perfect Teuchi-san. You are a hard worker and it shows." He assured the chef. "Though I wonder what is taking Naruto so long? He always beats me here for our weekly get together."
The chef relaxed at the mention of his best customer. "That he does Hokage-sama. Though I was rather surprised that he did not show up yesterday." He motioned with his hands over to the specials board that hanged off the corner of the counter. "He's never missed our weekly sale of miso ramen. Ayame and I were shocked that he did not show up the entire day."
That worried the Hokage. Perhaps young Naruto was sick? With a polite goodbye, Hiruzen made his way to the boy's apartment with a slight haste in his step.
He still made sure to return the bows with a gentle nod. The Hokage's strength was the village's strength. There was nothing to worry about, though the glimpses of his personal guard in the corner of his eye were worrying. They need to step up their training.
He arrived at Naruto's apartment building and decided to skip the stairs as he leapt up to Naruto's fourth floor apartment. He gave the door a gentle knock. "Naruto?" He called. "Are you home?"
Instead of an excited yell and the loud stomping of feet, there was no sound inside of the apartment. Hiruzen reached into his robes and pulled out the spare key and opened the door. Naruto was a sound sleeper. Perhaps he was busy last night and failed to get up with his alarm?
The apartment was a mess, that was not unusual. Naruto was neither home, nor at Ichiraku's. That could only mean that he was at the training fields. Where else would the boy be? His determination was admirable and he might have lost the track of time chipping away at the training posts.
The Third Hokage leapt roof to roof, his four ANBU guards at his side. Shinobi that they notice them as they sped past on the rooftops immediately tensed. Hiruzen regretted putting many of his loyal ninja on edge, but he needed to know if Naruto was safe.
The Hokage and his entourage neared the edge of the village and leapt into the woods and continued to run through the woods. From Training Ground 1 to 50, there was no sign of spiky blonde hair. The Hokage was no longer worried.
He was downright terrified.
Hiruzen used the Shunshin and sped through the village back to his office. There was only one other way for The Third to track down the boy. He needed his crystal ball. Without so much as a pleasant hello, he pushed past his secretary and uncovered his hidden item. The words spilled from his mouth in a whisper, "Tomegane no Jutsu." Fog filled the crystal ball as it searched the village for Naruto's chakra signature.
Stray thoughts filled Hiruzen's head as he waited for the technique to find Naruto. Perhaps he was frazzled over nothing. Naruto may have finally found a friend and just could not let them out of his sight. "He might fear that he will never see them again." Sarutobi thought sadly. His heart ached or the boy, the young jinchuriki is so desperate for friendship that the Hokage worries that he may do something dangerous or irresponsible for it. Hiruzen continued to wait, the rolling fog of the crystal ebbed and flowed as it searched for the signature of young Uzumaki. The aged elder had faith in his technique, it has never failed before.
The crystal ball emptied, the fog disappeared into nothingness as the technique cancelled itself.
For a single moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of The-Village-Hidden-In-The-Leaves, the famous "Professor" of the Elemental Nations, went through a dozen feelings. None of them mattered however, except for the final one. The last one that went through his heart was the strongest, for it was something he had not truly felt in many years.
Pure, unbridled rage.
"ANBU!" The Hokage roared, the room shook with his killing intent as four shadows became ninja that struggled not to shake from the concentrated murderous rage barely held in by the strongest shinobi in the village.
"I want all ANBU and jounin shinobi in the assembly within a half hour. NOW!"
There was no room for questions, the agents of the Hokage left the room in a relieved rush to get away from the encompassing anger of a veteran of three wars.
His hands shook with rage and sorrow. Hiruzen's telescope technique was unable to find young Naruto that meant that he was either, gone from this world, or hidden from his sight. Sarutobi found the latter far more terrifying than the former. That would mean an enemy from outside of the village knew who Naruto was, his heritage or his status as a jinchuriki, and saw a perfect an opportunity to slip inside of the village and kidnap the boy. The aged ninja shook his head free from these thoughts. Now was not the time to spiral into despair.
This was not the time to think, it's time for action. He made his way to the shinobi assembly hall underneath the Hokage Tower as he waited for the best of his shinobi to fill the room. The gathered ninja were tense and behind their masks of professionalism, Hiruzen could sense their unease.
Time was up, whoever failed to show up for the summons will face his wrath after this crisis. "Loyal ninja of Konoha," The Hokage started, the panic and rage from before was pushed down into his body after decades of practice. "For at last 48 hours Naruto Uzumaki has not been seen in the village." A few of the younger ninja tensed up at the boy's name. Hiruzen did not like the reaction, it did not bode well for their careers as ninja under his command. "I want the entire village and the surrounding area searched for any sign of him, I want him found within the hour." He ordered.
One of the gathered ninja, some young hotshot, decided to voice his opinion. "Why should we go hunting down the little mon-"He was unable to finish his sentence before he choked on his words from the overwhelming pressure that pressed down on his soul.
The Third Hokage had a measure of his killing intent aimed at the young jounin. "Do you dare to question your Hokage's orders? If so, I will deliver your punishment for your insubordination personally." The room was silent, no one dared to move as the legendary Hiruzen Sarutobi made a young man 50 years his junior pass out from his concentrated presence.
Some of the other ninja back away from the collapsed ninja, as if they may be the next one to draw the ire of "The Professor". Hiruzen addressed the room with a lighter tone, but the pressure remained. "You have your orders." He said, before he yelled, "Move out!"
Over a hundred ninjas streamed from the room to complete the emergency mission. Hiruzen watched them leave, and discretely signaled his personal guard to take the outspoken jounin into custody.
Traitors are always an inevitability, and Ibiki's skills cannot become rusty in peacetime.
Dozens of reports filled his desk after the time limit expired. All his ninja reported the same thing Hiruzen had already known. Naruto is missing, and has not been seen for over 48 hours. The Third Hokage was hunched over in his chair while his back slowly throbbed with pain that was quite easily forgotten in the moment.
The Inuzuka used his clothing from his apartment to try and find the scent of the young jinchuriki, but there was no major shifts from his usual areas. The Hyuuga clan established an interlocking grid of members across the village and even with their all seeing eyes, there was no sign of the boy. The Aburame clan scoured the outskirts of the village, but their insects found no sign of Naruto's unique chakra.
More and more reports from both individuals, groups and smaller clans filled his desk. Hiruzen read every single one as he hoped to find a clue to what had happened to Naruto. Every second, more and more paperwork piled on his desk, and he cursed Kami that he was unable to read through them quick enough.
With each report, Sarutobi's unsettliness grew. His disappearance was far too clean for that of a wandering child, whoever dared to kidnap must have known the secrets of the village. They would have had access to ANBU patrol routes, expert level seals, and specific knowledge on the weaknesses of the various clans within the village.
Like kunai that struck the bullseye in a target, a single idea passed through Hiruzen's mind before latched onto it with absolute clarity as the pieces fell together. Only one person had the information and the supplies needed to make a Konoha citizen disappear.
The Hokage disappeared from sight with a shunshin, his guard unable to follow him at his top speed as he raced towards the home of the one man who would even dare to cross Hiruzen Sarutobi. On the outside, the large manor was very unassuming. It was more of a compound than a home, walls surrounded a large home that simply blended in with the rest of the village with its off white colouring and red tiled roof. It even lacked any visible signs of what clan owned the small cordoned off patch of land.
For a man who simply did not want to be bothered by the average ninja, it was an excellent home. Until the Hokage himself bashed through the walls and blown the front doors off their hinges with a one hand.
"DANZO!" Sarutobi roared, his rage was evident as mansion shook down to its foundations from the amount of chakra that emitted from the aging leader. His loud entrance was answered by three people, none of which were the man he was looking for. These three were shinobi, that much Hiruzen was certain by their stances.
Sadly, that was all he saw of them before he swatted them aside like the gnats they are before he continued to turn the manor upside in his search for the thorn that has been stuck in his sides for nearly half a century.
"Is there a reason you are tearing my home apart Hokage-sama?" With all the destruction caused by the Hokage, the voice sounded rather calm about the situation. Sarutobi turned around, his robes flared open with the motion as he faced the target of his rage.
Danzo Shimura appeared to be rather disgruntled about the damages that have been done, if his furrowed brow was anything to go by. Hiruzen did not really care. He had far more pressing matters to discuss.
"You will tell me where you are keeping Naruto, or so help me Danzo, you can see how rusty my skills have become over the years." Sarutobi growled, his outright threat appeared to throw "The Darkness of Shinobi" off.
"What makes you think that I have the boy?" Danzo scowled as he spoke, clearly displeased that he was a suspect in the eyes of his former friend. "You ordered me to keep my distance, and as a Leaf ninja, even being retired-" Hiruzen snarled his disagreement at the word. "- I cannot disobey the word of the Hokage. A tree can only grow strong and right if it allows its caretaker to guide it to its fruition." Danzo smiled at his analogy, which only infuriated Hiruzen even more.
The Hokage bit his tongue to stop an anger fueled retort, a pain filled his mouth as well as a slight coppery taste. "If I find out that you had anything to do with his disappearance Danzo, the Shinigami himself will be picking up pieces of you scattered across the Land of Fire." With that final threat, Sarutobi returned to his office, never once did he turn back to see the hardened, though amused eye of his rival.
A simple puff of smoke in one of the far off training fields in the village signaled the return of Naruto Uzumaki as the sun fell on the third day since he reverse summoned himself to the homeland of the Monmusu Clan. With a bright smile and a scroll in hand, he marched through the village to the Hokage's Tower. Unaware that dozens of hunter ninjas were combing the countryside for any sign of the boy.
Even the few ANBU still in the village were too spread out to notice the blonde child as he marched past the harried civilians outside of the tower who were confused on why the ninjas were being mobilised. He made his way up the stairs and waved a greeting at the stunned secretary before he pushed open the doors to the old man's office.
"- I don't want to hear your excuses! Now get back out there and find-" The Third turned his attention to the door ready to yell at whoever decided to disrupt the meeting before he saw the little boy he has been searching for all-day. "Naruto!" He cried out.
Before the rest of the room could react, The Sandiame had dashed across the room and scooped the boy into a bone-crushing hug. His ANBU bodyguards quietly removed the other ninja from the Hokage's office and made sure to pass along the orders that Naruto Uzumaki has been found and the ninja corps can stand down.
Naruto voice was muffled by the robes as he spoke with a rare gesture of humility. "Sorry I'm late for lunch Hokage-Jiji."
He shook his head at the boy's words. He apologizes for missing lunch while I had half village across the countryside. A genuine laugh came from Hiruzen, all the anger gone and replaced with relief and mirth. "I'm just happy to see that you're safe Naruto.
Sarutobi kept his grip firm on the young jinchuriki, as he assured himself that this really was Naruto. No slight tingle of a henge and no sign of any disguise. Naruto was fine and whole and in his arms. The stress of the entire day left his body as he sagged to the floor, glad that his ANBU are the only ones he allowed to see him like this.
"But Miss Tamamo said that it was important for me to apologize when I make people wait for me." The boy struggled half-heartedly. "Hey Jiji, can you let go now? Your robe is really smelly." Naruto replied, his face still being smothered by Hiruzen's chest.
"Of course Naruto." He allowed the boy to pull away from him, but kept a firm grip on his shoulders. "Now where have you been for the past three days? And who is Miss Tamamo?" His voice was gentle, but firm. Hiruzen needed to know the truth.
The young child spoke in an active display as he regaled the tale of him meeting friends and having fun before he was almost hurt by yuki-onna much to Hiruzen's pleasure and horror. He and his new friends were then taken to their boss lady and they wanted to make sure he was okay before they could send him home.
Sarutobi was equally delighted and worried. He was happy that Naruto finally had friends his age, the Hokage has worried for years that Naruto would be lonely child with very few people close to his heart. He was also worried because whoever this "boss lady" was, she was able to hide Naruto from his sight. That was not a good sign for village security. Before the boy can continue his tirade as he talked about vampires and dragons, Hiruzen cleared his throat.
"Naruto-kun, could you introduce me to the boss lady? I would like to thank her for taking care of you." Sarutobi questioned the boy lightly, only for Naruto's big blue widen in surprise.
"She wants to meet you too Hokage-jiji!" He shows the Hokage the scroll in his hand. "She said that you can summon her using this. She said I can't do it because I don't have enough chakra."
The ANBU in the room moved forward as one and took position around both the Hokage and young jinchuriki. All the ninja in the room recognized the item as a summoning scroll. Hiruzen pulled it open and examined the seal etched into the paper and he noticed some very worrying signs in the ink.
"Where do your friends live Naruto-kun?" He asked.
"Oh, they live in someplace called The Continents." Naruto mentioned offhandedly.
Hiruzen never heard of any summon clan that had a home called that. "Naruto, are your new friends part of a summon clan?"
The young jinchuriki nodded, before his eyes sparked with realization. "What can you summon Jiji? I bet its dragons! All Hokages' probably summon the cool stuff."
The Third Hokage, chuckled. The Monkey King would have taken an offence to that. He may not be able to breath fire, but he still could knock-out most chunin without breaking a sweat. "Perhaps I will let you meet them another time, my boy. Now Naruto-kun," Hiruzen asked, "What is the name of your friends' clan Naruto?"
"The Monmusu Clan." He replied.
Hiruzen prepared himself to activate the summoning.
"Wait!" Naruto cried out, everyone froze.
"I promised the boss lady that I would prepare a tribite for her before she met you." His face scrunched together adorably as he tried to pronounce the new word in his vocabulary.
"You mean a tribute." The Hokage answered, relieved that it was nothing major. The worries of a small boy did wonders at lessening the tension in the office. A sign of trust between summoner and summon, Enma liked banana bread that his late wife, Biwako, liked to make in her free time.
"We need some miso ramen from Ichiraku's!" Naruto decreed triumphantly with a raised fist.
With a wave of his hand, Hiruzen motioned for Neko to acquire a bowl for their soon to be guest. While they waited her return, Naruto continued to question his Hokage-jiji about his summons. Hiruzen made the decision that he would never leave the boy alone with Enma. He might revoke his clan's contract out of annoyance!
Neko soon returned with a pipping hot bowl of ramen. Naruto cheered and thanked her for the speedy delivery and said that she would be rich being their delivery girl. Neko said nothing in return, but patted him on the head.
"Is there anything else we need Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked. With shake of blonde locks, the Hokage signaled his ANBU to stand ready as he poured his chakra into the scroll. With bated breath, smoke from the summoning filled the room.