Kakashi was nearing Naruto's location when suddenly an overwhelming chakra overcame him.
'What power!' He exclaimed in his mind. 'This huge chakra, could it be the Kyuubi?'
He felt out the chakra with what limited sensor ability he had.
'No this chakra doesn't feel the same as the one from 12 years ago... Another jinchuriki perhaps?' He speculated.
He pressed the talk button on his wireless radio, contacting his comrades outside the barrier.
"Captain, do you feel that?" He asked.
"Feel what exactly? All I feel is the same chakra from earlier." Came the reply.
"Then you don't feel how massive it's become?" He questioned worriedly.
"No. What's going on in there? Situation report." JACKAL said.
"I'm not sure. Suddenly I felt a huge burst of chakra coming from where Naruto has gone. I'm still following- wait! She's stopped! Coming into visual range soon. I'm establishing radio silence. I can't risk alerting any possible enemies." Kakashi said as he stopped just outside the clearing Naruto had finally halted at.
"Continue to observe, but be cautious. If at any point you deem the situation too dangerous, extract yourself and the target." Came the quick reply from the ANBU Captain.
'Easy for you to say, but if touching her still has the same effect as before, I'll likely be signing my own death sentence.' Thought Kakashi as he focused on one of the few people he would be willing to die for.
Making his presence as undetectable as possible, more than he had been already, as was standard ANBU Procedure, he peered out at Naruto from behind his DOG mask.
Naruto looked towards the sky and stared into the hues of the encroaching dawn that painted the sky an ocher color.
Just as dawn broke, the massive chakra Kakashi had been feeling finally localized in one spot, creating a small flame, that was slowly getting bigger, just above the clearing.
As the Hokage sped towards the location where Naruto was, he took some time to think.
Based on his and BEAR's current trajectory, there was only one place that held any significance in this direction, and that was the site where the Kyuubi was sealed into Naruto 12 years ago.
Leaping from branch to branch, he put on the wireless radio, turning the dial till he reached channel 134, coming onto the end of a conversation, as he came into view of an ANBU standing sentinel up ahead.
"Continue to observe, but be cautious. If at any point you deem the situation too dangerous, extract yourself and the target." Was the transmission he heard as he reached MOUSE's side.
"What's the current status of the mission?" He asked MOUSE as he reached the squad of his ANBU.
Quickly explaining Kakashi's latest report, the ANBU stationed in the clearing awaited the Hokage's orders.
"Spread out and surround the barrier as far as you can. MONKEY, your task is to return to ANBU headquarters and gather reinforcements. When you come back with the others, spread out and join the others in surrounding the area. We can't let anything slip past us." Hiruzen barked out, dispersing his soldiers with a wave of his arm.
Hiruzen took the moment of silence to contemplate the various events that had happened today.
'Somehow I feel like something big is about to happen.' He mused to himself as he stared grimly in the direction he knew Naruto had disappeared.
Kakashi stared, as the bright orange flames licked the air.
The flittering flames gave off an aura of warmth and security, something Kakashi had not felt in a very long time.
Temporarily mesmerized, he failed to notice as the flickering tendrils of warmth reached out towards the tiny form of Naruto.
He did, however, notice when the sunny blonde began to reach out to touch the wisps of orange.
Forgetting all sense of professionalism in his panic, he reached out for the child, his very soul crying out for her safety.
As Naruto's fingertips reached out to brush against the twisting orange flames, time seemed to slow down for Kakashi.
He watched in horror as the young girl stuck her hand right into the danger before her.
When Naruto went to bed on the night of October 9th, she did so with a smile on her face.
For even though tomorrow was the day all the villagers acted a lot more aggressive than usual, it was also the one day a year she got gifts.
Jiji would be coming to see her tomorrow, and with him, he'd bring her gifts. Last year she had not been able to celebrate with Jiji, but this year, he had PROMISED to be there for her.
Tomorrow was her 12th birthday. She was excited and nervous about it since this year was her the last year of the academy and she would be one step closer to her ultimate goal of becoming Hokage. She would take that hat from the old man one day, she just knew it!
In her dreams, Naruto was the strongest kunoichi ever, as well as the most awesome and coolest Hokage.
"Ultimate amazing super awesome mega Hokage Lady Naruto!" yelled a ninja as he entered her office.
"Yes, what is it?" Naruto asked from her desk in her orange Hokage robes.
"It's the princess! She's gone missing!" He said while panicking.
"Oh no! This is most terrible!" She said as she used her awesome ninja powers to find the princess.
"It was you! Evil Lord Duck Butt Sasuke! You stole the princess!" Naruto yelled as she entered the evil lair.
"Mwahahahahaha!" Sasuke said with an evil laugh. "That's right! It was I! The princess is mine!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Naruto yelled as she leaped with all her ninja might and beat Sasuke into the ground.
"Oh no! You have defeated me!" Sasuke lamented as he lay beaten on the ground.
"That's right! I'm the strongest!" Naruto gloated.
"I admit it, you are better than me. I surrender." Sasuke said as he handed over the princess.
Naruto tied up the villainous Sasuke and delivered the princess safely home, where the Daimyo decided to throw her a parade in her honor. Everyone in the village was there and cheering for her.
After the awesome parade old man Teuchi and his daughter Ayame cooked her an endless supply of ramen, which she graciously shared with Jiji.
As she was eating, the world around her grew dark, and Jiji, who was listening to the epic retelling of her adventures, vanished.
"Where did everybody go?" She said as a wall materialized in front of her.
Looking around, she seemed to be in a dimly lit hallway with shallow water all over the floor.
"What is this place?" She asked aloud to herself as she began to wander.
Suddenly a huge gust of wind came from behind her and hurried her forward.
"Waaaaaahhh!" She cried as she stumbled through the damp hall.
Whenever the path would branch in multiple directions, she was buffeted by gusts of wind that threatened to carry her away if she wandered down what she assumed was the wrong path. No matter how hard she fought against it, she would always end up back at the intersection she started at.
"Where am I going?" She asked the silent air after what seemed like hours.
There was no reply.
After a long period of even more eerie silence, the environment finally began to change.
The hall began to widen, and up ahead she could see a faint orange glow.
Naruto felt strangely subdued as she approached the glowing phenomenon. An odd feeling of warmth enveloped her from her belly as she slowly passed through a grand archway into a room containing the light source she was seeking.
There, about 3 meters above the ground was a floating orange flame.
With her attention completely riveted on the fire floating above her head, she failed to notice the giant metal gates behind it, or the giant red eye peering out from beyond them.
